Narcolepsy
Description
Narcolepsy is a chronic neurological disorder in which the brain’s ability to control the wake-sleep cycle is affected. In this condition, the patient suffers from excessive daytime sleepiness, frequent sleep attacks, sleep paralysis, hallucinations, and a sudden loss of muscle tone during wakefulness “cataplexy” which may lead to falling down. There’re two types of narcolepsy, the first one is known as narcolepsy with cataplexy, while the other is narcolepsy without cataplexy. This condition is rare and affects only 0.05% of people.
Symptoms
Narcolepsy symptoms significantly impact daily life and may include :
- Excessive daytime sleepiness (feeling drowsy during the day and finding it difficult to stay awake)
- Sleep attacks (falling asleep suddenly without previous warning)
- Cataplexy (Sudden temporary loss of muscle control which leads to weakness and possible fall, this usually occurs in response to emotions such as laughter or anger)
- Sleep paralysis (Temporary inability to move or speak when waking up or falling asleep)
- Hallucinations (occur while waking up or falling asleep)
Visit a Neurologist to be diagnosed and treated properly, If you or one of your family have any of these symptoms
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View MoreCauses
In some cases, this condition is caused due to lack of a specific brain chemical responsible for regulating wakefulness. This occurs as the immune system mistakenly attacks the cells producing this chemical. In other cases, the cause may be unclear, but several factors may contribute to developing this condition such as :
- Hormonal changes
- Psychological stress
- Infections such as swine flu
Diagnostics
Diagnosis depends on the symptoms and medical history. The first step of diagnosis is ensuring that the patient gets 6 hours of sleep for at least two weeks, then diagnostic tests can be done.
- Polysomnography : A type of sleep study in which several parameters such as brain waves, heart rate, and oxygen levels are monitored during sleep to help in diagnosis.
- Multiple sleep latency test : A test that assesses daytime sleepiness by measuring how quickly the patient falls asleep when he is given an opportunity to take a nap.
Treatment
Medications :
There’s no cure for narcolepsy, but some medications are useful in treating the symptoms such as : Modafinil, Methylphenidate, Imipramine, Clomipramine, Fluoxetine, Venlafaxine, Sodium oxybate.
Lifestyle modifications :
- Taking short naps at the time the patient feels asleep
- Keeping a regular sleep schedule
- Avoiding late dinner
- Avoiding alcohol or caffeine intake before bed
- Avoiding smoking in the evening
- Doing exercise
- Healthy diet
- Relaxing before going to bed
