Narcolepsy

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Sleep patterns in the young and aged

Overview

Symptoms

Treatment

Prevention

Narcolepsy

Alternative Names:

Daytime sleep disorder

Symptoms:

Persistent drowsiness
Difficulty for a young adult to stay awake during classes or work
A sudden, uncontrollable need to sleep during the day (hypersomnia)
- May occur several times during a day
- Usually happens after eating, but may occur at any time
- Each sleep episode lasts about 15 minutes
Awake and refreshed feeling after each episode
Hallucinations, visual (sight) or auditory (hearing) may precede sleep or occur during the sleep episode
Sudden loss of muscle tone (cataplexy)
- May be associated with emotional reactions such as laughter or anger
- May be similar in appearance to seizures
Temporary inability to use muscles (sleep paralysis)
- Occurs immediately upon awakening
- Occurs at the onset of drowsiness

Signs and tests:

Examination and testing are used to rule out disorders that may cause similar symptoms, including sleepiness that results from seizures, sleep apnea, insomnia, restless leg syndrome, or other sleep disorders.

The diagnosis is confirmed by sleep studies (polysomnogram).

Tests to rule out other disorders may include:

Lab tests (variable, depending on the suspected cause)
ECG (heart monitor)
Monitoring of breathing
EEG (brain wave monitoring)
Recording of the amount of sleep
Sleep lab study -- recording of observed sleep cycle including episodes of REM sleep (the part of the cycle where dreaming occurs)

Recently, patients with narcolepsy have been found to have low levels of hypocretin (a protein made by the brain) in their spinal fluid. More research will determine how useful this test is in diagnosing narcolepsy.

Review Date: 8/1/2004
Reviewed By: Joseph V. Campellone, M.D., Division of Neurology, Cooper University Hospital, Camden, NJ. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed physician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. Copyright 2004 A.D.A.M., Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.