-IBIS-1.5.0-
tx
nervous system
narcolepsy
diagnoses

definition and etiology

definition: a rare syndrome of recurrent attacks of sleep, sudden loss of muscle tone (catalepsy) sleep paralysis, and hypnagogic phenomena, with a characteristic initial REM sleep pattern. Idiopathic, and four times more common in men than in women.

signs and symptoms

signs and symptoms:
Four components of the disorder:
• Sleep attacks: frequent and untimely occurrence. REM sleep is immediate vs. that of normal sleep in which NREM sleep precedes REM sleep. The patient can be roused from narcoleptic sleep as easily as normal sleep.
• Cataplexy: momentary paralysis occurs in association with sudden emotional reactions. An element of surprise seems important. The patient may drop the rod when a fish strikes the line.
• Sleep paralysis: just when falling asleep or upon awakening, the patient wants to move and for a moment he/she cannot. (This is common in some normal adults and children.)
• Hypnagogic phenomena: vivid auditory or visual illusions or hallucinations may occur at the onset of sleep.

course and prognosis

Onset is adolescence or adulthood; is considered lifelong, though does not appear to exacerbate.

differential diagnosis

• depression
• sleep apnea
• epilepsy
• substance abuse
• hypothyroidism
• intracranial neoplasm


footnotes