The Truth About Narcolepsy

One of the more interesting disorders that have attained comedic portrayal in various media is the sleep disorder known as Narcolepsy. However, when the average person thinks of narcolepsy, they think of someone who falls asleep suddenly and ends up facedown in a plate of food. Most people do not understand all there is to this disorder. According to the textbook Psychopathology: Custom Edition for the University of South Carolina, in addition to the sleepiness, people with narcolepsy tend to experience cataplexy; a sudden loss of muscle tone while awake that can be slight or lead to complete physical collapse. As this is usually preceded by strong emotions, you could imagine the embarrassment of suddenly collapsing when your favorite team wins a game or arguing with a friend. How disruptive this could be to a person's life?

This condition seems to be a result of the sudden onset of REM (rapid-eye movement) sleep. Instead of falling asleep naturally through the 4 non-REM stages of sleep, people with narcolepsy progress right to the dream state almost directly from wakefulness. This sudden falling asleep is the narcolepsy most people are familiar with. However, there are other complications that do not gain as much attention. Like sleep paralysis and hypnagogic hallucinations.

People with narcolepsy often report the condition known as sleep paralysis. This state can be frightening as a person who wakes finds themselves unable to move or speak for a brief time. However, this is not the most frightening event a person with narcolepsy can endure. Hypnagogic hallucinations are a terrifying even that often begins at the start of sleep. The hypnagogic hallucinations are said to be unbelievably realistic because the experiences encompass not only visual hallucinations but the senses of touch, hearing and even the sensation of body movement. This can often be so vivid that one feels as if it is reality, which can be terrifying, if the hallucination is of falling or being caught in a fire.

Fortunately, despite the severity of the symptoms of narcolepsy, the disorder itself is quite rare. The textbook reports narcolepsy as occurring in approximately .03% to .16% of the population. Few cases have been seen in young children, but most signs of narcolepsy are first reported during the teenage years. Usually only excessive sleepiness occurs first, with cataplexy sometimes appearing after a delay of even 30 years. The best news is that cataplexy and hypnagogic hallucinations tend to decrease in frequency over time, even though the excessive sleepiness does not.

An interesting fact about research on narcolepsy is that "man's best friend" is playing a role in finding the etiology and treatment of this disorder. Research done previously with Doberman pinchers and Labrador retrievers, who can also inherit this disorder, have led to the suggestion that narcolepsy may be associated with gene clusters on chromosome 6 and it may be an autosomal recessive trait.

Treatment of narcolepsy often begins by using anti-depressants; not because they are depressed but bcause antidepressants tend to suppress REM sleep. Also, gamma-hydroxybutyrate, or GHB (also known as the date-rape drug) is the first medication specifically approved to treat cataplexy. Cataplexy itself seems related to the onset of REM, so the anti-depressants seem to work well in inhibiting this as well. Psycholgical treatments for these conditions are virtually non-existent, although counseling and support groups exist to assist in dealing with the psycho-social effects of Narcolepsy.

If you or a loved one think you may be suffering from this debilitating disorder, talk to your doctor or find a sleep clinic near you. To help, I will list some resources below:

Support Groups:

• http://www.dailystrength.org/c/Narcolepsy/support-group

• http://www.mdjunction.com/narcolepsy

• http://sleep.emedtv.com/narcolepsy/narcolepsy-support-groups.html

Sleep clinics

• http://www.sleepcenters.org/

• http://www.sleepdex.org/clinics.htm

• http://www.southernsleep.net/

Source: Psychopathology: Custom Edition for the University of South Carolina by Barlow et. al