Am speaking from a combination of years of living with severe Cataplexy (my 20's were rough) along with years (since 28 years old when I finally discovered the term and got the confirmation within a couple of years after, I'm 42 now) of having been very deeply dove into better understanding the disease, through reading medical writings, research, terminology definitions, along with others experiences and perspectives. Head's up, some of what I say below may be a bit repetitive, but it is simply in attempts to be thorough and hopefully clear. Narcolepsy Fact Sheet: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).You should try to maintain a structured sleep schedule, which can include napping during the day if required. Currently there is no cure for Narcolepsy, but the symptoms of narcolepsy are controllable with medication.These tests help doctors rule out signs and symptoms that could be linked to similar other sleep disorders. The following are used in determining a diagnosis of narcolepsy: This testing often takes place overnight at a sleep clinic, under the watch of professional medical staff. If symptoms of narcolepsy are visible, provide evidence & ask your doctor to refer you for further testing with a specialist. Source: US National Institute of Health: NHLBI Heredity/Genes create a disposition towards developing narcolepsy, rather than causing the disorder itself. " Toxins may include heavy metals, pesticides and weed killers, and secondhand smoke." Some research suggests that environmental toxins may also trigger narcolepsy. It is thought that a combination of the following factors cause low levels of hypocretin: What causes low hypocretin levels isn't well understood. This is a chemical in the brain that helps promote wakefulness. Most people who have narcolepsy have low levels of hypocretin. Narcoleptics suffer from the inability to remain awake during the day and to stay asleep through the night. The name is from the ancient Greek narco- ( to put to sleep) & -lepsis ( to have a seizure). Narcolepsy is a chronic neurological sleep disorder that affects the brain's ability to regulate sleep-wake cycles.Sleep Study or Polysomnogram, What to Expect & How to Prepare Your question may have already been answered. Please read the following posts before asking questions.Great user posts/responses are going to be posted here from now until the wiki is up and running.Because narcolepsy is an under-recognised disease, it is important that general practitioners and other primary health-care workers identify abnormal daytime sleepiness early.New to Narcolepsy? Please read our Wiki page! Subreddit Links Treatment is with stimulant drugs to suppress daytime sleepiness, antidepressants for cataplexy, and gamma hydroxybutyrate for both symptoms. The cause of neural loss could be autoimmune since most patients have the HLA DQB1*0602 allele that predisposes individuals to the disorder. Pathophysiological studies have shown that the disease is caused by the early loss of neurons in the hypothalamus that produce hypocretin, a wakefulness-associated neurotransmitter present in cerebrospinal fluid. The onset of narcolepsy with cataplexy is usually during teenage and young adulthood and persists throughout the lifetime. Sleep monitoring during night and day shows rapid sleep onset and abnormal, shortened rapid-eye-movement sleep latencies. It is characterised by severe, irresistible daytime sleepiness and sudden loss of muscle tone (cataplexy), and can be associated with sleep-onset or sleep-offset paralysis and hallucinations, frequent movement and awakening during sleep, and weight gain. Narcolepsy with cataplexy is a disabling sleep disorder affecting 0.02% of adults worldwide.
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