Sleeping disease
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.
Other names for this disorder include excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), hypnolepsy, paroxysmal sleep, and Gelineau syndrome.
Read Also:
- Sleepwalking
Ensure that the sleepwalker is in a safe room for walking and cannot accidentally fall through an open window or down stairs. Some types of sleepwalking are related to seizure disorders, bipolar disorders, and other neurological conditions, but most cases are transitory and due to unknown causes. Also known as somnambulism.
- Sliding hiatal hernia
Hiatal hernias are categorized as being either sliding or para-esophageal. Sliding hiatal hernias are those in which the junction of the esophagus and stomach, referred to as the gastro- esophageal junction, and part of the stomach protrude into the chest. The junction may reside permanently in the chest, but often it juts into the chest […]
- Slipped disc
Rupturing of the tissue that separates the vertebral bones of the spinal column. The center of the disc, which is called the nucleus, is soft, springy and receives the shock of standing, walking, running, etc. The outer ring of the disc, which is called the annulus (Latin for ring), provides structure and strength to the […]
- Slow virus
A virus that has a long incubation period before the onset of a very gradual progressive disease. Typically, the diseases caused by slow viruses affect the central nervous system and are associated with a variety of nervous system symptoms while having a characteristically protracted, progressive clinical course.
- Slow-wave sleep
Stage 3 and 4 non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep. Slow-wave sleep is characterized by brain wave patterns (electroencephalogram or EEG) with a frequency of less than 4 Hz and peak-to-peak amplitude of 75 microV.