Ingram, D, & Churchill, S 2017, Sleep Problems in Children With Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum’, Pediatric Neurology, 67, pp. 85-90, MEDLINE with Full Text, EBSCO host, viewed 28 February 2017.

This interesting study presents evidence for a higher incidence of sleep disorders in children with agenesis of the corpus callosum (ACC).

The study is based on questionnaires completed by the parents of 66 children with ACC of between 5-18 years of age, who originated from a variety of countries.

Many of the children had comorbidities which included autism, epilepsy, hydrocephalus etc.

The results indicate that sleep abnormalities such as sleep resistance and sleep anxiety were present in ACC children 5-12 years, whereas older children, 12-18 years of age, had more daytime sleepiness and were more likely to show breathing disorders during sleep. The study also showed that sleep abnormalities were correlated with a lower quality of life, particularly if the child experienced parasomnia.

The study is significant for the management of children with ACC, as it reports the need to address sleep disorders in this population.

The sleep health foundation (http://www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au/) has some useful advice, but, as always, discuss this with your child’s doctor.

Prof Linda Richards.