Narcolepsy

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Narcolepsy

Narcolepsy is a permanent sleep disorder that gets worse with age. It is estimated that about 40,000 to 135,000 people in the United States have narcolepsy. (Narcolepsy, 2002). Most people who have narcolepsy are often times misdiagnosed because the symptoms, especially if noticed at the beginning stages, are very similar to other sleep disorders. Some of the symptoms that go along with narcolepsy are excessive sleepiness, especially during the daytime or when sleep is inappropriate, cataplexy which is when a person suddenly looses control of their muscles, sleep paralysis which is when the person is unable to move for a short period of time after they wake up from sleep, and hypnagogic hallucinations which is very vivid dreams, often experienced minutes after falling asleep. (Wunder 2002).

For a person with narcolepsy, the message about when to sleep and be awake often arrive at the brain at the wrong time or wrong place, causing them to fall asleep while their emotions are high or even during physical activities. According to Margan (2003), narcoleptic patients have a shortage of neurons which produce excitatory neurotransmitters such as hypocretin and orexin. With less of these neurotransmitters, the signals for when to sleep and when to be awake is sent at the wrong times. Scientists have found that narcoleptic patients lack a chemical in the brain called hypocretin. Hypocretin helps to regulate sleep and stimulates arousal. It was also discovered that the number of neurons which secrete hypocretin is also reduced. (Wunder 2002). It is uncertain why these are missing.

Treatment for narcolepsy is limited, but there are possible medications to help limit the effects of this disorde...

... middle of paper ...

...ness Associated With Narcolepsy. American Family Physician. pp. 973.

Ault, Alicia. (1999, January). FDA Approves First New Narcolepsy Drug in USA in Decades. Lancet. pp. 131.

Morgan, K. (2003, March). No Rest for the Waking. Science News, 163, 181.

O'Brien, James C. (2004). Facts about narcolepsy – frequently asked questions. Retrieved April 2, 2004, from http://www.talkaboutsleep.com/sleepdisorders/

Narcolepsy_FAQS.htm

Seydel, C. (2000, August). Wake Up Call for Narcoleptics. Science Now, 2.

Takahashi, Joseph. (1999, September). Narcolepsy Genes Wakes Up the Sleep Field. Science. pp. 2076.

Travis, J. (2000, September). Brain-Cell Loss Found In Narcolepsy. Science News, 158, 148.

Wunder, Heidi T. (2002). Living with narcolepsy. Retrieved April 2, 2004, from http://www.sleepfoundation.org/publications/livingnarcolepsy.cfm

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