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Narcolepsy

Narcolepsy. Information adapted from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. What is it?/ Symptoms. Disorder of the CNS characterized by the brain's inability to control sleep-wake cycles . Irresistible and sudden bouts of sleep (seconds to minutes)

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Narcolepsy

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  1. Narcolepsy Information adapted from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

  2. What is it?/ Symptoms • Disorder of the CNS characterized by the brain's inability to control sleep-wake cycles. • Irresistible and sudden bouts of sleep (seconds to minutes) • Other major symptoms: • Daytime sleepiness • Cataplexy (a sudden loss of voluntary muscle tone that may be triggered by strong emotions) • vivid dream-like images or hallucinations during sleep onset or when waking • brief episodes of total paralysis, also during sleep onset or when waking. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hT6OyPAEzI

  3. Causes • When cataplexy is present, narcolepsy is almost always caused by the lack of a brain neurotransmitter called hypocretin • The normal organization of sleep is also changed. For normal sleepers a typical sleep cycle is about 100 to 110 minutes long, beginning with NREM sleep and transitioning to REM sleep after 80 to 100 minutes. People with narcolepsy frequently enter REM sleep within a few minutes of falling asleep. • Irregular hypothalums function

  4. Who gets narcoplepsy? • 80% of narcolepsy patients have first symptoms at ages 15-35 years…sometimes younger • Men and women affected equally • Fairly rare disorder (conflicting reports from different groups…1 in 3,000-7,000) • May be a genetic link, but not strong enough to declare a large risk factor

  5. Treatments • Biomedical approaches • Drugs/stimulants can alert the CNS to keep it from randomly shutting down • More rarely…heavy sedatives at night are prescribed to insure restful night sleeping to prevent sleepiness during the day • Behavioral • Scheduled sleep periods (night and day naps) • Exercising, bathing before bed, drinking warm liquids, etc. to help patients relax before regular sleep times

  6. Video examples • In media: • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxLxJ_iZ0DY&NR=1&feature=endscreen • (45 mins) • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0GyhVN-HwU • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vM4e1dQiqQw

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