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Narcolepsy is a sleeping disorder that occurs during the adolescence stage. It is peculiar as it causes the afflicted person to develop a spontaneous sleep cycle during the day. This disorder prompts “sleep attacks” to occur, and can even be accompanied by cataplexy, random muscle failure or really just REM sleep paralysis (Zimbardo, Johnson, Weber,2008, p.109). It can be dangerous as the attacks can be triggered at any time by intense feelings of emotion or a lack of stimulation. This means that in cases such as driving, sexual intercourse, and times of extreme happiness a narcoleptic person could just fall straight into REM sleep (Zimbardo, Johnson, Weber,2008,

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and other institutes of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) conduct research into narcolepsy and other sleep disorders in laboratories at the NIH and also support additional research through grants to major medical institutions across the country. The NINDS continues to support investigations into the basic biology of sleep, including the brain mechanisms involved in generating and regulating sleep. Within the National Heart, Lung, and Blood

In his article “Narcolepsy,” Jerome M. Siegel discusses the disease and its possible causes. To begin with, Siegel defines the symptoms and problems associated with the disease. Moreover, he states what exactly the disease is, his research into its causes and effects on the nervous system, and the possibility that the narcolepsy may be an autoimmune disease.

Narcolepsy is a sleeping disorder that affects 1 in about 2,000 people in the United States. Many people are unaware that they have this disorder, and it goes undiagnosed. Narcolepsy affects your sleeping pattern, including irregular patterns in your Rapid Eye Movement (REM), and significant disruptions in your normal sleep/wake cycle. There is no cure for this disorder, but it is treatable. We also don’t know what causes it.

Firstly, what is narcolepsy? Narcolepsy is a neurological disorder that effects your central nervous system that does not allow the person to have a regulated sleep cycle. A regular person normally has a 90 minute sleep cycle, while a narcoleptic goes straight into REM sleep. Since they go straight into REM sleep, the brain does not have a chance to recover from its constant activities. A narcoleptics

In order to review their inherited genetic risks and help them understand and provide counseling according to their specific needs the genetic counselor should know the Trosacks ' have already established that their unborn child has Tay Sachs disease and based on those needs they should be provided with appropriate guidance and counseling as they progress through their pregnancy. The discussion should include what causes genetic disorders, and what that means to the Trosack couple specifically, including dominant, recessive and x-linked disorders. However, recessive disorders should be fully discussed in this case. Another topic to include in the discussion are what genes and chromosomes are, and the relation to Tay Sachs disease.

disorder is the a neurological condition in which a person has an uncomfortable sensation of

For many people, becoming tired in the middle of the afternoon isn’t unusual. However, for those who suffer from narcolepsy, it is a difficult struggle to stay awake all day, everyday. It is estimated that approximately 40,000 to 135,000 people in the United States have narcolepsy. (Narcolepsy, 2002) This number has such a wide-range because there are many people who have narcolepsy but don’t know it while others are often misdiagnosed. Although there are medications for people with narcolepsy, the medications do not prevent all of their symptoms from occurring. Scientists have performed many studies, but still do not know the actual cause of narcolepsy,

Starting off on the disability details of epilepsy and narcolepsy. First, the definition of epilepsy is when your brain has recurring seizures (Haugen 42). The definition of narcolepsy is when you start hallucinating (Brayer 85).Some symptoms of narcolepsy are sleep paralysis, excessive daytime sleepiness (Brayer 30), and mental confusion (“Facts”). Staring off into space, measles, poor diet, illegal drugs, stress, alcohol, and

Also known as night terrors, these episodes are often paired with other prarsomnias, such as sleepwalking. A Parasomnia is an undesired occurrence during sleep, such as sleep talking, sleep walking, and night terrors. During these sleep terror episodes, an individual might kick and thrash around while still unconscious, stare wide eyed, scream or shout, and so on. Night terrors are said to be able to occur for a period of up to 30 minutes, once about that much time has passed, the person will once again lye down and go to sleep. Once the next day comes around the corner, usually the child or adult will not have any recollection of the event, but they at times remember small fragments of the

Sleep paralysis is a common condition with a prevalence of 5-62%, although most affected people have single or infrequent episodes (Dahlitz). Occasionally sleep paralysis is found to run in a family, and it can be associated with other disorders of hypersomnia, such as sleep apnea (Becker 81). Narcolepsy has also been linked with sleep paralysis; both are thought to be REM sleep disorders (Siegel). Gender and race do not seem to be a factor of risk for this disorder. The episodes of sleep paralysis seem to range from ages 5-35 (Dahlitz). The use of anxiolytic medicines, psychiatric disorders and high anxiety can also contribute to sleep paralysis (Larkin).

The accuracy of the diagnostic of narcolepsy is an important. First we need to determine if the cause of the narcolepsy is not another sleep disorder as OSA. Documentation of physical evaluation that should document degree of alertness and patients behavior. Medical history examination have to be analyzed. Use of questionnaires to assess subjective sleepiness and sleep patterns. The most used questionnaire is th Epworth Sleepiness scale and a MSLT study performed in an accredited Sleep Center.

Summary: Narcolepsy and cataplexy are lifelong illness due to the loss of Hypocretin in the brain. Hypocretin is a chemical that regulate sleep cycle, without it people will experience sleep disorder. There is no cure for the disease. However, condition can be managed by drug therapy and several behavioral strategies. But I am looking forward that one day researcher will find a cure for it so I can live my life normally as I used before.

Narcolepsy is a neurological, sleep disorder that affects 1 in 2000 Americans. It is not selective against race, nor gender, and does not have a link among family members. Therefore anyone, and everyone is susceptible to having narcolepsy. In addition narcolepsy is often misunderstood, underdiagnosed and/or misdiagnosed. Currently there is no cure for this chronic and sometimes debilitating condition. The focus of this paper is to re-examine current knowledge of narcolepsy, through significant scientific research, in order to generate a desire to continue to search for a cure that will lead to the improvement of the quality of life for

Parasomnia refers to a wide variety of disruptive, sleep-related events or, "disorders of arousal." These behaviors and experiences occur usually while sleeping, and most are often infrequent and mild. They may however happen often enough to become so bothersome that medical attention should be sought out. "Parasomnias are disorders characterized by abnormal behavior or physiological events occurring in association with sleep stages, or sleep-wake transitions."(DSM pg. 435)