Narcolepsy

Narcolepsy: Introduction

Narcolepsy: Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder. Affected individuals are extremely drowsy during the daytime and may fall into a deep sleep at any time. After a short nap, the patient may ... more about Narcolepsy.

Narcolepsy: Narcolepsy is characterized by the classic tetrad of excessive daytime sleepiness, cataplexy, hypnagogic hallucinations, and sleep paralysis. More detailed information about the symptoms, causes, and treatments of Narcolepsy is available below.

Symptoms of Narcolepsy

• Excessive daytime sleepiness - the most common and usually the earliest symptom; can occur even after adequate nightly sleep
• Daytime sleep attacks
• Napping
• Drowsiness
• Falling asleep during laughter
• more symptoms...»

See full list of 31 symptoms of Narcolepsy

Home Diagnostic Testing

Home medical testing related to Narcolepsy:

• Sleep Disorders: Home Testing
  • Home Sleep Tests
  • Sleep Apnea Diagnostic Tests
• Brain & Neurological Disorders: Related Home Testing:
  • ADHD -- Home Tests
  • Drug Screening Kits
• more tests...»

Narcolepsy: Complications

Review possible medical complications related to Narcolepsy:

• Social problems - daytime attacks and cataplexy can interfere with home life or work.
• Car accidents
• more complications...»

Diagnostic Tests for Narcolepsy

• Polysomnogram
• Multiple sleep latency test
• more tests...»

Read more about tests for Narcolepsy

Wrongly Diagnosed with Narcolepsy?

• Misdiagnosis of Narcolepsy
• Failure to diagnose Narcolepsy
• Hidden causes of Narcolepsy (possibly wrongly diagnosed)
• Undiagnosed: Narcolepsy

Narcolepsy: Self Assessment Tools

• Stroke -- Self Assessment Tools
• more tools...»

Narcolepsy: Medical Mistakes

• Insomnia -- Health Mistakes
• Sleep Disorders -- Health Mistakes
• more mistakes...»

Narcolepsy: Marketplace Products, Discounts & Offers

Products, offers and promotion categories available for Narcolepsy:

• Sleeping & Insomnia
• Stroke
• Brain
• more product offers...»

Narcolepsy: Undiagnosed Conditions

Commonly undiagnosed diseases in related medical categories:

• Brain & Neurological Disorders: Undiagnosed:
  • Adult ADHD -- Undiagnosed - ADHD can be undiagnosed in adults.
  • ADHD -- Undiagnosed
  • Alzheimer Disease -- Undiagnosed
  • Migraine -- Undiagnosed
  • Concentration Disorders -- Undiagnosed
  • Stroke -- Undiagnosed
  • Bipolar Disorder -- Undiagnosed
  • Schizophrenia -- Undiagnosed
  • Epilepsy -- Undiagnosed
• more undiagnosed conditions...»

Misdiagnosis and Narcolepsy

Undiagnosed stroke leads to misdiagnosed aphasia: BBC News UK reported on a man who had been institutionalized and treated for mental illness because he suffered from sudden...read more »

Dementia may be a drug interaction: A common scenario in aged care is for a patient to show mental decline to dementia. Whereas this can, of course, occur due to various medical conditions, such as a stroke or Alzheimer's...read more »

RLS sleep disorder causing night-time leg sensations often misdiagnosed: A common but relatively unknown sleep-related disorder called Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) is often misdiagnosed. The typical symptoms are night-time tingling,...read more »

Mild traumatic brain injury often remains undiagnosed: Although the symptoms of severe brain injury are hard to miss, it is less clear for milder injuries, or even those causing...read more »

MTBI misdiagnosed as balance problem: When a person has symptoms such as vertigo or dizziness, a diagnosis of brain injury may go overlooked. This is...read more »

Brain pressure condition often misdiagnosed as dementia: A condition that results from an excessive pressure of CSF within the brain is often misdiagnosed. It may be misdiagnosed as Parkinson's disease or ...read more »

Post-concussive brain injury often misdiagnosed: A study found that soldiers who had suffered a concussive injury in battle often were...read more »

Children with migraine often misdiagnosed: A migraine often fails to be correctly diagnosed in pediatric patients. These patients are not the typical migraine sufferers, but migraines can also occur in children. See ...read more »

Read more about Misdiagnosis and Narcolepsy

Narcolepsy: Research Doctors & Specialists

Research related physicians and medical specialists:

• Neurology (Brain/CNS Specialists):
  • Neurology (Brain/CNS Specialists)
  • Pediatric Neurology (Child Brain Specialist)
  • Pediatric Neurosurgery (Child Neurosurgeon)
  • Clinical Neurophysiology
  • Neurodevelopment Disabilities
  • Neurosurgery (Brain Surgery)
  • Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine (Nerve/Muscle/Bone Specialists)
  • Neuroradiology
  • Vascular Neurology
  • Neuropathology
  • Otology / Neurotology (Ear/Hearing Specialists)
• Stroke & Vascular Specialists:
  • Vascular Neurology (Brain Blood Vessels)
  • Vascular & Interventional Radiology
  • Vascular Surgery (Blood Vessel Surgeon)
  • Neuropathology (Brain Diagnostics)
• Sleep/Insomnia Health Specialists:
  • Sleep Medicine (Insomnia & Sleep Disorder Specialists)
• Senior Health Specialists (Geriatrics):
• more specialists...»

Other doctor, physician and specialist research services:

• Rate Your Doctor Online
• Research Your Doctor Online
• Review Patient Surveys About Your Doctor
• Research local specialists including ratings, affiliations, and sanctions.

Narcolepsy: Rare Types

Rare types of diseases and disorders in related medical categories:

• Brain & Neurological Disorders: Rare Types:
  • Adult ADHD -- Rare Types
  • ADHD -- Rare Types
  • Alzheimer Disease -- Rare Types
  • Migraine -- Rare Types
  • Concentration Disorders -- Rare Types
  • Stroke -- Rare Types
  • Bipolar Disorder -- Rare Types
  • Schizophrenia -- Rare Types
  • Epilepsy -- Rare Types
• more rare diseases...»

Causes of Narcolepsy

• Genetic predisposition
• Abnormal neurotransmitter functioning and sensitivity
• Abnormal immune modulation
• more causes...»

Read more about causes of Narcolepsy

More information about causes of Narcolepsy:

• Underlying causes of Narcolepsy
• Medical news summaries relating to Causes of Narcolepsy

Treatments for Narcolepsy

• Medications
  • Central nervous system stimulant drugs
  • Modafinil (Provigil)
  • Amphetamines
  • Dexamphetamine
• more treatments...»

See full list of 22 treatments for Narcolepsy

Latest Treatments for Narcolepsy

• Modafinil
• Selegiline
• Amphetamines
• Dextroamphetamine
• Pemoline
• more treatments...»

See full list of 14 latest treatments for Narcolepsy

News Archives for Narcolepsy

Medical news articles related to Narcolepsy include:

• Researcher IDs Narcolepsy as Autoimmune Disease
• Narcolepsy Drug Might Be Addictive
• more health news...»

Source: HealthDay News

Videos for Narcolepsy

Patient Surveys for Narcolepsy

• Patient Profile Survey
  Take Survey  View Results
• Survey about the symptoms of your Narcolepsy
  Take Survey  View Results

Prognosis for Narcolepsy

Prognosis for Narcolepsy: With proper management and treatment, patients with narcolepsyusually lead meaningful and productive personal and professional lives.

More about prognosis of Narcolepsy

Reseach about Narcolepsy

Visit our research pages for current research about Narcolepsy treatments.

Clinical Trials for Narcolepsy

The US based website ClinicalTrials.gov lists information on both federally and privately supported clinical trials using human volunteers.

Some of the clinical trials listed on ClinicalTrials.gov for Narcolepsy include:

• Trial Comparing Effects of Xyrem Taken Orally and Modafinil With Placebo in Treating Daytime Sleepiness in Narcolepsy - This study has been completed (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - sodium oxybate
• Safety and Efficacy Study of CEP-10953 in the Treatment of Excessive Sleepiness Associated With Narcolepsy - This study has been completed (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - CEP-10953
• PROVIGIL (Modafinil) Treatment in Children and Adolescents With Excessive Sleepiness Associated With Narcolepsy or Obstructive Sleep Apnea/Hypopnea Syndrome - This study is no longer recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Modafinil
• Sleep Disorders of Patients With Diseases of the Nervous System - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• Safety and Efficacy of Xyrem Oral Solution (Sodium Oxybate) Compared With Placebo in Narcoleptic Patients - This study has been completed (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - sodium oxybate
• more trials...»

See full list of 16 Clinical Trials for Narcolepsy

Statistics for Narcolepsy

• Medical statistics for Narcolepsy
• Prevalence and incidence statistics for Narcolepsy
• Death and Mortality statistics for Narcolepsy
• Society statistics for Narcolepsy

Narcolepsy: Broader Related Topics

• Sleep disorders
• Sleep disorder
• Brain conditions
• more types...»

Types of Narcolepsy

Stories from Users Related to Narcolepsy

• More than just narcolepsy?
• Narcolepsy
• is this narcolepsy, please help
• Did Ephedra Cause her Narcolepsy??
• Was her Narcolepsy Caused by this?

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User Interactive Forums

Read about other experiences, ask a question about Narcolepsy, or answer someone else's question, on our message boards:

• I can not get a diagnosis. Please help.
• Tell us your medical story.
• Share your misdiagnosis story.
• What is the best treatment for this?
• See all the forums.

Article Excerpts about Narcolepsy

Genes and Disease by the National Center for Biotechnology (Excerpt)

Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder. Affected individuals are extremely drowsy during the daytime and may fall into a deep sleep at any time. After a short nap, the patient may feel refreshed, but it is only a short period of time before drowsiness returns. (Source: Genes and Disease by the National Center for Biotechnology)

NINDS Narcolepsy Information Page: NINDS (Excerpt)

Narcolepsy is a disabling neurological disorder of sleep regulation that affects the control of sleep and wakefulness. It may be described as an intrusion of the dreaming state of sleep (called REM or rapid eye movement sleep) into the waking state. (Source: excerpt from NINDS Narcolepsy Information Page: NINDS)

Narcolepsy: NWHIC (Excerpt)

Narcolepsy is a chronic sleep disorder with no known cause. The main characteristic of narcolepsy is excessive and overwhelming daytime sleepiness, even after adequate nighttime sleep. A person with narcolepsy is likely to become drowsy or to fall asleep, often at inappropriate times and places. Daytime sleep attacks may occur with or without warning and may be irresistible. These attacks can occur repeatedly in a single day. Drowsiness may persist for prolonged periods of time. In addition, nighttime sleep may be fragmented with frequent wakenings. (Source: excerpt from Narcolepsy: NWHIC)

Definitions of Narcolepsy:

A condition characterized by recurrent episodes of daytime somnolence and lapses in consciousness (microsomnias) that may be associated with automatic behaviors and AMNESIA. CATAPLEXY; SLEEP PARALYSIS, and hypnagogic HALLUCINATIONS frequently accompany narcolepsy. The pathophysiology of this disorder includes sleep-onset rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, which normally follows stage III or IV sleep. (From Neurology 1998 Feb;50(2 Suppl 1):S2-S7) - (Source - Diseases Database)

A sleep disorder characterized by sudden and uncontrollable episodes of deep sleep; "he believes that narcolepsy is attributable to an inability to suppress REM sleep during waking" - (Source - WordNet 2.1)

Narcolepsy is listed as a "rare disease" by the Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This means that Narcolepsy, or a subtype of Narcolepsy, affects less than 200,000 people in the US population.
Source - National Institutes of Health (NIH)