Narcolepsy
What is narcolepsy?
Narcolepsy is a condition where there is excessive sleepiness. This may or may not be associated with another symptom called cataplexy. Which refers to an uncontrollable loss of muscle tone, or muscle weakness. There are two other symptoms of narcolepsy. Hypnologic hallucinations. Patients of narcolepsy report these very vivid dream like images on falling asleep. And the forth symptom of narcolepsy is called sleep paralysis. And it is a symptom of feeling paralyzed on waking.
How is narcolepsy caused?
Narcolepsy is caused by a deficiency of a protein or hormone in the brain, and the name of this protein or hormone is orexin, or it is also known by another name, hypocretin. This hormone is usually found in a part of the brain called the hypothalamus. In patients with narcolepsy, this part of the hypothalamus is found to be damaged and none of this hormone is manufactured. As a result, these people develop symptoms of excessive daytime sleepiness, cataplexy, hypnagogic hallucinations, and sleep paralysis.
How many people suffer from narcolepsy?
Narcolepsy affects about 1 in 2000 people worldwide. And in Japan, about 1 in 800 people are thought to have narcolepsy.
How can narcolepsy be treated?
At present, there is no cure for narcolepsy because narcolepsy is caused by the deficiency of this protein. We will have to wait for a discovery of a compound that can replace this protein in the brain. There are several ways of treating narcolepsy, the most common of which is using tablets or medicines that promote wakefulness that increase alertness and increase wakefulness. No perfect treatment exist at the moment but there are some very effective treatments for people of narcolepsy and significant proportion of people who have narcolepsy lead very productive life with a career, family, social networks, and actually succeed at what they do.
How do I deal with someone who has narcolepsy?
Like any person with the medical condition, the treatment involves a variety of inventions not only medicine which is biologically intervention but also psychological and social interventions. People with narcolepsy form the stable and strong support groups and example would be the UK Narcoleptic Association and the UKAN, they provide peer support, advice and other tops support with people with narcolepsy.