Emerging Therapies in Narcolepsy-Cataplexy

Narcolepsy and Cataplexy

After hearing the punch line of the joke, the teenager falls to the floor, almost as if actually punched. She remains there, completely unable to move. She hears her parents reassure her friends that they need not worry about her because she will be all right in a few minutes. She is embarrassed and frustrated as the episode continues, and her friends begin to leave. They bid her goodbye, but s...

Narcolepsy and Cataplexy

Epidemiology [3] Prevalence is estimated as 25 per 100,000 in Caucasian populations. [4] Age of onset is typically around adolescence. A smaller number of cases presents at around 35 years. Less than 5% of narcolepsy with cataplexy occurs in children. One study found that it was often linked to complex movement disorders. [5] It is possible that incidence statistics would increase if diagnostic...

The neurobiology of narcolepsy-cataplexy.

Narcolepsy with cataplexy in monozygotic twins

INTRODUCTION This paper describes narcolepsy with cataplexy in two monozygotic twin sisters. OBJECTIVE To clinically illustrate the involvement of neurological, genetic and immunologic systems in narcolepsy. MATERIAL AND METHODS We performed a restropective study of these patients that were followed in the sleep medicine ambulatory clinic of the Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirao Preto. RE...

Cortical morphometry in narcolepsy with cataplexy.

The sleep-wake disorder narcolepsy with cataplexy is associated with the loss of hypocretin-(orexin-) producing neurons in the lateral hypothalamus. Several studies have reported abnormal cerebral activation in patients with narcolepsy with cataplexy. It remains unclear, however, whether these functional changes are related to structural alterations, particularly at the cortical level. To quant...