What are the symptoms of narcolepsy with cataplexy?

Introduction

Narcolepsy with cataplexy is a chronic sleep disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) and sudden episodes of muscle weakness triggered by emotions, known as cataplexy. This condition significantly impacts the quality of life and daily functioning of affected individuals.

Key Insights

Excessive Daytime Sleepiness (EDS)
- EDS is a primary symptom, causing severe, irresistible daytime sleepiness that disrupts daily activities .
Cataplexy
- Cataplexy involves sudden loss of muscle tone triggered by strong emotions such as laughter, anger, or surprise. It can affect various muscle groups, including the head, jaw, and shoulders .
Sleep Paralysis and Hallucinations
- Patients often experience sleep paralysis (inability to move upon waking or falling asleep) and hypnagogic hallucinations (vivid, dream-like experiences) .
Disturbed Nocturnal Sleep
- Frequent awakenings and disrupted sleep patterns are common, leading to poor sleep quality at night .
REM Sleep Abnormalities
- Rapid sleep onset and abnormal, shortened REM sleep latencies are observed in both nighttime and daytime sleep .
Emotional Triggers and Behavioral Responses
- Emotional stimuli often trigger cataplexy, and patients may develop adaptive strategies to manage their emotional responses to avoid triggering episodes .
Pain and Other Symptoms
- Chronic pain is more common in narcolepsy with cataplexy patients compared to the general population, affecting their quality of life. Other symptoms may include automatic behaviors, muscle aches, and blurred vision during cataplexy .

Conclusion

Narcolepsy with cataplexy is marked by excessive daytime sleepiness, sudden muscle weakness triggered by emotions, sleep paralysis, hypnagogic hallucinations, and disturbed nocturnal sleep. Emotional triggers play a significant role in cataplexy episodes, and patients often develop coping mechanisms to manage these triggers. Chronic pain and other symptoms further complicate the condition, highlighting the need for comprehensive management strategies.

What are the symptoms of narcolepsy with cataplexy?

Summary

Introduction

Key Insights

Conclusion

Sources and full results

Clinical, behavioural and polysomnographic correlates of cataplexy in patients with narcolepsy/cataplexy.

High-frequency cataplexy attacks in narcolepsy/cataplexy patients involve head, jaw, and shoulder muscles more frequently, and are more likely to be triggered by emotions.

Narcolepsy with cataplexy

Narcolepsy with cataplexy is a disabling sleep disorder affecting 0.02% of adults worldwide, with symptoms ranging from severe daytime sleepiness to sudden muscle loss.

Symptomatic narcolepsy, cataplexy and hypersomnia, and their implications in the hypothalamic hypocretin/orexin system.

Symptomatic narcolepsy, cataplexy, and hypersomnia are often associated with other neurological conditions, and the hypothalamus is often involved in these cases.

The clinical spectrum of narcolepsy with cataplexy: a reappraisal

Narcolepsy with cataplexy is distinct from non-narcolepsy hypersomnia, with two distinct symptom complexes: excessive daytime sleepiness and sleep paralysis/hallucinations.

Excessive daytime sleepiness and the pathophysiology of narcolepsy-cataplexy: a laboratory perspective.

Narcolepsy-cataplexy is characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness, which represents a slow waxing and waning of alertness rather than punctate microsleeps, and may be considered a disease of state boundary control.

Cataplexy features in childhood narcolepsy

Childhood narcolepsy patients show a variety of cataplexy features, including falls, knee, head, and jaw involvement, and a previously unrecognized condition called cataplectic facies.

Narcolepsy with cataplexy.

Narcolepsy with cataplexy is a serious chronic neuropsychiatric disorder that disrupts social, educational, and vocational development, and provides insights into the mechanisms regulating human sleep.

NATURAL HISTORY, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF THE NARCOLEPTIC SYNDROME

Narcolepsy symptoms often begin in adolescence or early adult life, with cataplexy, sleep paralysis, and frequent dreams as common symptoms, and can be effectively managed with a combination of amphetamines and imipramine.

High pain frequency in narcolepsy with cataplexy.

Chronic pain is significantly more common and disabling in narcolepsy with cataplexy patients, impacting sleep quantity, depression, and quality of life.

Facing emotions in narcolepsy with cataplexy: haemodynamic and behavioural responses during emotional stimulation

Adult narcoleptic patients exhibit lower arousal and emotion-expressive behavior to emotional stimulation compared to healthy controls, potentially impacting their adaptive cognitive strategies for avoiding cataplexy.

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