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Recommended: Paper on narcolepsy
Narcolepsy is a chronic disease of the central nervous system. Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is the main symptom and is present in 100% of patients with narcolepsy. Other primary symptoms of narcolepsy include:
• loss of muscle tone (cataplexy),
• distorted perceptions (hypnagogic hallucinations), and
• inability to move or talk (sleep paralysis).
Additional symptoms include disturbed nocturnal sleep and automatic behavior (patients carry out certain actions without conscious awareness). All of the symptoms of narcolepsy may be present in various combinations and degrees of severity.
Narcolepsy usually begins in teenagers or young adults and affects both sexes equally. The first symptom to appear is excessive daytime sleepiness, which may remain unrecognized for a long time in that it develops gradually over time. The other symptoms can follow excessive daytime sleepiness by months or years.
How common is narcolepsy?
The prevalence of narcolepsy is similar to that of Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis. In the United States, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke estimates narcolepsy affects one in every 3,000 people.
Narcolepsy often remains undiagnosed or misdiagnosed for several years. This may occur because physicians do not consider the diagnosis of narcolepsy frequently enough. They may think of narcolepsy only in people who have the main symptom of excessive daytime sleepiness. Narcolepsy may not be considered in the evaluation of patients who come to doctors complaining of fatigue, tiredness, or problems with concentration, attention, memory, and performance, and other illnesses (seizures, mental illness, etc
What causes narcolepsy?
Advances have been made in the last few years in deter...
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...ons, and sleep paralysis), from the so-called "narcolepsy pentad" (a set of five symptoms).
Automatic behavior may occur in 60% to 80% of patients with narcolepsy. Automatic behavior is when patients carry out certain actions without conscious awareness, often with the unusual use of words (irrelevant words, lapses in speech). This behavior occurs while the patient is fluctuating between sleep and wakefulness.
Other complaints associated with narcolepsy may include eye disturbances due to sleepiness, such as blurred vision, double vision, and droopy eyelids
How is narcolepsy diagnosed?
The diagnosis of narcolepsy is based on a clinical evaluation, specific questionnaires, sleep logs or diaries, and the results of sleep laboratory tests.
Clinical evaluation
Clinical evaluation includes a detailed medical history and physical examination by a physician.
Questionnaires
Each year at least 40 million Americans suffer from long term, persistent sleep disorders, and an additional 20 million experience occasional sleeping problems. About 60 million Americans a year have insomnia and it tends to increase with age and affects about 40 percent of women and 30 percent of men. It is estimated that 18 million Americas are suffering from sleep apnea, 12 million have RLS, and 250,000 are affected by narcolepsy. Adults typically need between 6 and 10 hours of sleep per 24 hour period, and most people need approximately 8 hours of sleep per day. Infants generally need about 16 hours per day; whereas, teenagers require 9 hours on average. In the first 3 months of...
Insomnia, from the Latin "in" (not) and "somnus" (sleep), is a condition characterized by difficulty falling asleep, and/or staying asleep. Insomnia can result in getting up in the morning feeling unrested and experiencing drowsiness during the day. It is not identified as a disease or diagnosis, but a symptom that causes a person to feel irritable, sleepy, and have ...
Millions of people suffer from the same tossing and turning every which way, getting their sheets all disarranged and their minds abundantly worse. Patients often report indications of insomnia while sitting in the family health clinic. Insomnia traits include hindrance, falling asleep, continuing to awaken, and rejuvenating before wanted. One may suffer from insomnia if one shows signs of an increased difficulty in attentiveness, decreased communal or scholastic skills, and a diminished mood or enthusiasm. Foldvary-Schaefer 111.
People who suffer from insomnia will exhibit symptoms such as, sleepiness during the day, general tiredness, irritability, and problems with concentration or memory. Women over the age of 60 have a greater risk due to hormonal shift associated with menopause and changes in sleep patterns that occur with age. Other risk factors include mental and physical health conditions, extended severe stress situations, lack of a regular schedule.
THESIS STATEMENT: Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder that has a specific medical definition, life-changing symptoms, and there are ways in how people treat it.
Kales, A. (1972). The evaluation and treatment of sleep disorders : Pharmacological and psychological studies. In M. Chase (ed.)The Sleeping Brain. Los Angeles : Brain Information Service.
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Sleep disorders are an underestimated public health concern considering that fifty to seventy million Americans are affected. Technological advances in the field of sleep have facilitated various theories to explain the need for and the purpose of sleep. Scientist have uncovered many types of sleep disorders such as insomnia, sleep apnea, and narcolepsy. Sleep disorders affect men ,women, children, the elderly, and the obese in different ways. Factors such as the number of children and the effects of menopause have been studied to determine their effects on sleep. Various treatments have been utilized ranging from non-pharmacologic to pharmacologic methods. Scientist have pinpointed areas of the brain that are involved in sleep deprivation and hormones that ultimately affect sleep.
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