Narcolepsy
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Tetrad of narcolepsy
- Cataplexy
- Sleep paralysis
- Hypnagogic hallucinations
- Excessive daytime sleepiness
Clinic
- Narcolepsy is a long-term neurological disorder that involves a decreased ability to regulate sleep–wake cycles.
- Only about 20 -25 % of people with narcolepsy experience all four symptoms.
- Excessive daytime sleepiness and brief involuntary sleep episodes.
- They have episodes of sudden loss of muscle strength, known as cataplexy. (70%)
- Narcolepsy paired with cataplexy is evidenced to be an autoimmune disorder.
- Cataplexy can be brought on by strong emotions.
- Vivid hallucinations or sleep paralysis while falling asleep or waking up (Less commonly)
- Sleep quantity in narcolepsy is not changed but its quality decreased.
- Narcolepsy is a clinical syndrome of hypothalamic disorder
- Low levels of the neuropeptide orexin, which may be due to an autoimmune disorder triggered by INFL (H1N1) infection.
- Trauma, tumors or other brain diseases affecting the parts of the brain that regulate wakefulness or REM sleep.
- They are also more likely to develop RBD.
Hypnagogic hallucinations
- They are vivid, often frightening, dreamlike experiences that occur while dozing or falling asleep.
- Hypnopompic hallucinations refer to the same sensations while awakening from sleep.
- Visual or auditory hallucinations
- They may visibly fall asleep at unpredictable moments
- They fall quickly into what appears to be very deep sleep, then wake up suddenly and can be disoriented when they do (dizziness is a common occurrence).
- They have very vivid dreams, which they often remember in great detail.
- Along with vivid dreaming, people with narcolepsy are known to have audio or visual hallucinations prior to falling asleep.
Other symptoms
- Automatic behaviors
- Night-time wakefulness
- Irregular sleep–wake cycles
- Abnormal REM sleep
Irregular sleep–wake cycles
- Excessive daytime sleepiness due to irregular sleep–wake cycles.
- Decreasing amount of restorative deep.
- They have sufficient REM sleep, but do not feel refreshed / Sleep deprivation
- Excessive sleepiness esp commonly during monotonous situations
- Daytime several naps
- Vivid dreams even during very brief naps.
- Night-time sleep is fragmented with frequent awakenings.
Abnormal REM sleep
- It is a prominent symptom of narcolepsy
- They typically have higher REM sleep density
- They enter into REM in the beginnings of sleep, even during day-sleep.
- REM sleep without atonia
- Some aspects of REM sleep that normally occur only during sleep occur at other times.
- Muscular atonia can occur during wakefulness in a cataplexy episode
- Sleep paralysis and vivid dreams can occur while falling asleep or waking up.
Related disease
Cataplexy