What Is Narcolepsy?

Narcolepsy is a disease of the central nervous system. One of the main symptoms of narcolepsy is sudden sleep. People suffering from narcolepsy can fall asleep with practically no warning.

Other symptoms also include loss of muscle tone, distorted perceptions and inability to move or talk.

Additional symptoms include disturbed nocturnal sleep and automatic behavior. All of the symptoms of narcolepsy may be present or some and not others.

Symptoms of Narcolepsy

The first symptom of narcolepsy is usually daytime sleepiness, which develops gradually over time. The other symptoms can follow excessive daytime sleepiness by months or years.

So narcolepsy can go undiagnosed for a long time as the symptoms can take such a long time to fully manifest.

Narcolepsy is not definitively diagnosed in most patients until 10 to 15 years after it first appears. The cause of narcolepsy is not fully known. It is likely that narcolepsy involves multiple factors interacting to cause neurological dysfunction and sleep disturbances.

Narcolepsy Facts

Narcolepsy a fairly common sleep disorder, . According to current estimates, the disorder affects about one in every 2,000 people. After obstructive sleep apnea and restless legs syndrome,* narcolepsy is the third most frequently diagnosed primary sleep disorder.

Narcolepsy is not a fatal disorder in itself but it does have a great impact on the life of the suffere. Due to the excessive sleepiness, narcoleptics may fall asleep while driving and that is sometimes fatal. There are different levels of severity. Some with this disorder may have mild sleepiness or rare cataplexy (less than once per week). Others may have moderate sleepiness or infrequent cataplexy (less than daily). Yet others may experience severe sleepiness or severe cataplexy (daily). Narcolepsy is usually treated with a medication to improve alertness and an anti-depressant that helps control cataplexy. In February 1999, a new drug, Provigil (Modafinil) is to be distributed for use in controlling sleepiness in narcolepsy.