Narcolepsy is a serious sleep disorder that belongs to the group of sleep-wake disorders. Those affected can also fall asleep spontaneously in everyday situations. This is characteristic of the disorder. Depending on the situation, falling asleep can lead to dangerous situations, e.g. accidents. For this reason, narcolepsy is a dangerous condition.
Find out more about this sleep disorder here and find selected narcolepsy specialists
Narcolepsy tends to affect people between the ages of 15 and 30. However, the disease can also occur for the first time at any other time in life.
In principle, narcolepsy has no effect on life expectancy. However, it is associated with a considerable reduction in quality of life.
Narcolepsy manifests itself through a massive increase in daytime sleepiness, known as hypersomnia in technical jargon. Those affected feel as if they have not slept enough or well. They are often exhausted and tired.
The sleepiness is not latent all the time, but comes on intermittently and overwhelmingly. Within seconds, it can cause those affected to feel compelled to sleep and possibly fall asleep.
The previous night's sleep intake has no influence on the occurrence of these episodes.
Patients with narcolepsy suffer a great deal of emotional distress: they feel misunderstood by their environment and live in constant fear of an outbreak.
Narcoleptics can suddenly fall asleep. This is why the condition can be dangerous © EdNurg | AdobeStock
Another well-known symptom is cataplexy. This is when the postural muscles give way so that the affected person can no longer control a certain part of the body, such as the head or legs, and collapses. Where cataplexy occurs depends on the individual case. Those affected are conscious during cataplexy.
Those affected often complain that their sleep rhythm is disturbed during the night. Waking up several times and long periods of wakefulness during the night are characteristic of narcolepsy.
Other symptoms:
The symptoms listed can accompany narcolepsy. However, they usually do not occur completely and together.
As quality of life suffers as a result of narcolepsy, many patients develop psychological problems. Doctors must not confuse these with the underlying clinical picture. The patient and doctor must therefore communicate very precisely when examining and describing the clinical picture.
Patients must first inform their doctor about their medical history and state their symptoms precisely. The most common symptoms of narcolepsy are so specific that even general practitioners should be able to make a suspected diagnosis of narcolepsy.
To confirm the suspicion, a referral to a specialist is usually advisable. The somnologist (loosely translated: sleep doctor) has a range of tests to diagnose the patient's clinical picture.
A first test is the ESS (Epworth Sleepiness Scale), in which patients classify their individual daytime sleepiness. In order to rule out differential diagnoses for the symptoms, doctors often carry out
routine examinations. Monitoring in the sleep laboratory can be carried out to ensure a definitive diagnosis. In most cases, however, the clinical picture can be clearly determined beforehand.
The causes of narcolepsy are still largely unclear. The disease is probably caused by physiological or genetic characteristics in combination with external environmental factors.
Some experts suggest that narcolepsy is an autoimmune disease. For example, a reduced level of hypocretin can be detected in the cerebrospinal fluid of narcolepsy patients. CSF is the term for cerebrospinal fluid.
Narcolepsy is a disorder of neurological functions. The brain is unable to perform functions such as
smoothly and normally. This fundamental confusion leads to the particular symptoms of narcolepsy.
Narcolepsy cannot be cured. However, treatment can help to reduce the symptoms and significantly improve quality of life.
Drug therapies can beused to normalize the sleep rhythm. This makes it possible to minimize waking phases, sleep paralysis and hallucinations during the night. Patients can often sleep through the night and feel fitter and more rested over time.
Non-drug therapy is primarily associated with a change in lifestyle. This includes
Patients suffering from narcolepsy feel severely restricted in their lifestyle. The disease has no physiological effect on life expectancy.
With various therapy techniques, it is possible to considerably reduce the symptoms of the disease. Narcoleptics are not alone. With the right therapy, doctors can improve the quality of life of those affected immensely.
The Leading Medicine Guide's quality assurance is ensured by the following acceptance prerequisites.
