Narcolepsy
Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder of neurological origin, whose main characteristic is the excessive daytime sleepiness. The patient usually feels sleepy, either continuously or at different times of day, and sometimes, the sleepiness is so sudden and intense that you just fell asleep: it is what is called “sleep attacks”. Some people may have several attacks of daytime sleepiness and they may last from few minutes to over an hour.
Although it is quite unknown, this disease is more common than thought. According to the Spanish Association of Narcolepsy, its incidence in Western countries is between 0.2 and 2.6 by 1000.
Possible causes of this rare disorder have not yet been determined, although many recent findings indicate that the concept of narcolepsy genetic and hereditary implications. Thus people suffering from this disease, have, up to 35 percent of cases, a direct antecedent to have suffered the same condition.
However, what it has shown is that certain factors such as menstruation, stress, sudden changes in sleep-wake rhythm, conditions such as infectious mononucleosis and trauma, could be triggers of this disease.
What these patients suffer symptoms?
Among the patients there are wide variations in the development, severity, and order of appearance of symptoms. Each individual may experience symptoms differently (10 per cent of people affected by narcolepsy have all the symptoms), but the most common symptoms of narcolepsy are reflected generally in periods of excessive sleep, loss of motor functions and lack of control of vivid hallucinations while asleep or sleep periods lasting.
Thus, uncontrollable daytime sleepiness and sleep attacks (which occur 10 times a day, usually after meals but can also occur when the person engaged in any activity of daily living) is added, for example the so-called Sleep paralysis is a temporary inability to speak or move when the patient begins sleep, during sleep or when awake, and can last from seconds to minutes.
It is also common among these patients suffer from hypnagogic hallucinations, experiences that are very difficult to distinguish from reality and often frightening, and usually occur while in a fit of sleep, falling asleep or beginning to awaken.
Also, narcolepsy may be associated with cataplexy or cataplexy, that is sudden and severe deprivation of muscle tone without loss of consciousness. They can be affected a limited number of muscles or alter much of the musculature of the body. Thus, normally, the head falls forward, the arms fall to the sides and knees bent, and duration of attacks is very variable and can last from a few seconds to thirty minutes.
These episodes typically occur Cataplectic by intense emotions like laughter prolonged, stress, fatigue, heavy meals, anger, fear or joy, and often by surprise or by carrying out sudden movements. Similarly, attacks may occur unrelated to any factor.