Sleep, paroxysmal

Sleep, paroxysmal
A neurological disorder marked by a sudden recurrent uncontrollable compulsion to sleep. Also known as narcolepsy. The disorder is often associated with cataplexy (a sudden loss of muscle tone and paralysis of voluntary muscles associated with a strong emotion), sleep paralysis (immobility of the body that occurs in the transition from sleep to wakefulness), what are called hypnagogic hallucinations (pre-sleep dreams) and automatic behaviors (such as doing something "automatically" and not remembering afterwards how one did it). 125,000 Americans are estimated to have narcolepsy. It strikes males and females and all races. Symptoms most commonly appear in a person’s teens and early twenties. The disease can vary in severity. Some persons with it have mild sleepiness or rare cataplexy (less than one episode per week). Other persons may have moderate sleepiness or infrequent cataplexy (less than one episode a day). Still other persons with narcolepsy may experience severe sleepiness or have severe cataplexy (with one or more episodes of cataplexy per day). The cause(s) of narcolepsy are unknown. It is not a fatal disorder in itself but it can lead to fatalities. For example, a narcoleptic may fall asleep while driving. Narcolepsy is usually treated with a medication to improve alertness and an anti-depressant that helps control cataplexy. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1998 approved Provigil (modafinil), a non-amphetamine drug for treating the excessive sleepiness of narcolepsy. Other names for this disorder include excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), hypnolepsy, sleeping disease, and Gelineau syndrome.

Medical dictionary. 2011.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Paroxysmal nonkinesigenic dyskinesia — Classification and external resources OMIM 118800 DiseasesDB 32382 Paroxysmal Nonkinesigenic Dyskinesia (PNKD) is an episodic move …   Wikipedia

  • Paroxysmal Nonkinesigenic Dyskinesia — (PNKD) is an episodic movement disorder first described by Mount and Reback in 1940 under the name Familial paroxysmal choreoathetosis [Mount, L. A.; Reback, S. : Familial paroxysmal choreoathetosis: preliminary report on a hitherto undescribed… …   Wikipedia

  • Sleep apnea — Classification and external resources Obstructive sleep apnea ICD 10 G …   Wikipedia

  • Sleep disorder — Classification and external resources ICD 10 F51, G47 ICD 9 …   Wikipedia

  • Sleep — The body’s rest cycle. Sleep is triggered by a complex group of hormones that are active in the main, and that respond to cues from the body itself and the environment. About 80 percent of sleep is dreamless, and is known as non rapid eye… …   Medical dictionary

  • paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea — episodes of respiratory distress that awaken patients from sleep and are related to posture (especially reclining at night), usually attributed to congestive heart failure with pulmonary edema but sometimes occurring in patients with chronic… …   Medical dictionary

  • paroxysmal sleep —    see narcolepsy and hallucinations …   Dictionary of Hallucinations

  • paroxysmal sleep — narcolepsy …   Medical dictionary

  • Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo — Classification and external resources Exterior of labyrinth. ICD 10 H …   Wikipedia

  • Obstructive sleep apnea — Classification and external resources Obstructive sleep apnea ICD 10 G …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”