The correlation between sleep and epilepsy has been argued over the past decades among scientists. Although the similarities and contrasts between sleep and epilepsy had been considered, their intertwined nature was not revealed until the nineteenth century. Sleep is recognized as a recurring state of mind and body through alternating brain electrical activities. It is documented that sleep disorders are associated with epilepsy. The origin, suppression, and spread of seizures are affected by sleep. As such, in patients with epilepsy, sleep disorders are a frequent comorbidity. Meanwhile, orexin, a wake-promoting neuropeptide, provides a bidirectional effect on both sleep and epilepsy. Orexin and its cognate receptors, orexin receptor type 1 (OX1R) and type 2 (OX2R), orchestrate their effects by activating various downstream signaling pathways. Although orexin was considered a therapeutic target in insomnia shortly after its discovery, its potential usefulness for psychiatric disorders and epileptic seizures has been suggested in the pre-clinical studies. This review aimed to discuss whether the relationship between sleep, epilepsy, and orexin is clearly reciprocal.

在过去的几十年里，科学家一直在争论睡眠与癫痫之间的相关性。尽管睡眠和癫痫症之间的相似性和对比性已经被考虑过，但直到 19 世纪它们相互交织的本质才被揭示出来。睡眠被认为是一种通过交替的脑电活动反复出现的身心状态。据记载，睡眠障碍与癫痫有关。癫痫发作的起因、抑制和扩散受睡眠影响。因此，在癫痫患者中，睡眠障碍是一种常见的合并症。同时，促进觉醒的神经肽食欲素对睡眠和癫痫具有双向作用。食欲素及其同源受体，食欲素受体 1 型 (OX1R) 和 2 型 (OX2R)，通过激活各种下游信号通路来协调它们的作用。尽管食欲素在发现后不久就被认为是治疗失眠症的靶点，但临床前研究表明它对精神疾病和癫痫发作的潜在用途。本综述旨在讨论睡眠、癫痫和食欲素之间的关系是否明显相互关联。