NarcolepsyNarcolepsy

Kelly Lewis

Jimmy Wells

Stacey Leonard

NarcolepsyNarcolepsy

Frequent disorder– the second leading cause of excessive daytime

sleepiness after obstructive sleep apnea Epidemiology of narcolepsy

– an incidence of 0.2 to 1.6 per thousand in European countries, Japan and the United States.

– a frequency at least as large as that of Multiple Sclerosis.

NarcolepsyNarcolepsySociological ImpactSociological Impact

Disabling– work

– leisure

– interpersonal skills

– accident prone

Under-diagnosed– majority of patients in country are still undiagnosed– the mean number of years between the onset of

symptoms and correct diagnosis was 14 years

NarcolepsyNarcolepsySymptomsSymptoms

EDS - Excessive Daytime Sleepiness Abnormal REM Sleep Cataplexy Sleep Paralysis Hypnagogic Hallucinations

NarcolepsyNarcolepsyDiagnosisDiagnosis

Diagnosis through specific medical procedures easy if symptoms are present

Nocturnal Polysomnogram Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT)

– will confirm the daytime sleepiness by showing a short sleep latency of usually less than 5 minutes, as well as an abnormally short latency prior to the first REM period (SOREMPs).

Narcolepsy Narcolepsy GeneticsGenetics

Due to modern technology, accurate diagnosis can occur, but the cause of Narcolepsy is still unknown

We do know it has a strong genetic base and it involves the immune defense system

The gene is close to being discovered and the cure will soon follow

Narcolepsy gene studies have involved narcoleptic Doberman pinschers

NarcolepsyNarcolepsyGeneticsGenetics

The results of a family study were consistent with a dominant mode of inheritance with incomplete penetrance of a hypothetical disease susceptibility gene

Most cases of narcolepsy have no other family members affected with narcolepsy and the risk is very small. If you have narcolepsy-cataplexy, the risk for your child to develop narcolepsy-cataplexy is only 1-2%. The risk of developing daytime sleepiness without cataplexy may be slightly higher (4%).

NarcolepsyNarcolepsyPedigreePedigree

NarcolepsyNarcolepsyReferencesReferences

Cure Narcolepsy Now

www.users.cloud9.com/~thorpy/narc.html

Stanford Center for Narcolepsy

www-med.stanford.edu/school/Psychiatry/narcolepsy/