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Narcolepsy (History (The first convincing report of narcolepsy was by…
Narcolepsy
History
The first convincing report of narcolepsy was by Westphal in 1877 and Fisher in 1888. Narcolepsy was officially discovered.
In 1935, the first use of a nervous system stimulant drug was used to help make a man more productive.
The 1917-1927 epidemic of encephalitis lethargica (a disease that brought high fever and mental illness) confused scientists about the definition of narcolepsy. Von Economo clarified that narcolepsy was maybe because of posterior hypothalamus that differed the two (narcolepsy and encephalitis lethargica).
In 1880, Gelineau created the term Narcolepsy.
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Overview
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The drowsiness that narcolepsy brings causes mental illness or even brain damage, lack of concentration, and not being able to control your muscles.
There are two types of narcolepsy:
Type 1 - This includes excessive sleepiness and drowsiness as well as one or two of the following:
Cataplexy is when you have a sudden attack that leads to loss of muscle tone that can sometimes make you paralyzed. These events are caused by strong emotions.
Low hypocretin (a hormone in your brain that controls appetite and sleep) can be an aspect in having narcolepsy type one.
Type 2- This type includes only excessive sleepiness. For example, you might take a nap and feel fresh, but after a couple of hours, you will want to go back to sleep.
Narcolepsy affects about 25 out of every 100,000 people in the United States.
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Causes and Effects
Causes
Narcolepsy can be caused by previous medical conditions such as a head injury, a tumor, multiple sclerosis (a condition that affects the brain and spinal cord causing problems with the 5 senses), or encephalitis (a condition where the brain gets swollen). This is called secondary narcolepsy.
Orexin (hypocretin) is what most narcolepsy patients lack which is the main cause of having narcolepsy.
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Polysomnogram (a recording of muscle movement, breathing, and other actions during sleeping) and a multiple sleep latency test (a test that assesses sleep time and identifies if you have REM sleep which is a disorder that causes a fast pulse and other abnormal actions while sleeping) are ways to identify if you have narcolepsy.
Effects
Limitations
Driving- Narcolepsy patients might have to be cautious about whether to drive or not. Studies show that these patients have an increased risk of causing an accident than others. This is due to not being alert at all times. This is not the ideal state for driving. Narcolepsy patients have to decide whether they will take the challenge because falling asleep on the wheel is not a good circumstance.
Career- due to lack a of concentration in these patients, finding a job might be difficult. These patients will have a hard time because of the constant sleeping during work hours. Compromises have to be conjured in order for it to work. For example, making up for missed work hours by staying up late at night might be situation to converse about with your employer.
School Aged Children- Students with narcolepsy might find it difficult to attend school. Lack of concentration includes minimum focus. These specific students might find it hard to earn good grades, understand unknown concepts, and also improve socially.
Narcolepsy patients might find it challenging to form interpersonal relationships. Drowsiness can disrupt conversations, social events, and other related interpersonal circumstances.
People with narcolepsy might experience and have fogginess, poor memory, and hallucinations.
Symptoms and Treatments
Symptoms
Some symptoms include sudden attacks of sleep, muscle paralysis, fatigue, or hallucinations.
An additional 3 symptoms consist of an uncontrollable urge to want to sleep, poor quality sleep at night, and vivid (usually frightening) dreamlike experiences while sleeping.
Repetitive amounts of weakness in the muscles of your body such as your legs can also be a sign of narcolepsy.
Hallucinations of narcolepsy relate to dreaming. Hallucinations that occur while sleeping are identified as hypnagogic. If hallucinations occur while awake, they are identified as hypnopompic.
Treatments
Therapy in the form of a support group allows a narcolepsy patient to converse about the condition with another similar narcolepsy patient.
Cognitive enhancing medication (a drug that improves cognitive function), stimulants, antidepressants, and Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (a drug used as treatment in the case of a depression or anxiety disorder) are all medications used to improve productivity.
Narcolepsy can't be cured completely, but it can be retained by the medications above to help improve your daily lifestyle.
Amphetamine (a stimulant used for the nervous system) is a common and popular drug used for reducing the effect of patients with narcolepsy.
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