Mild narcolepsy without cataplexy
Automatic behaviors: Trying to avoid sleepiness can trigger automatic behaviors that occur while a person is unaware.
After short naps, people with narcolepsy usually feel temporarily refreshed. Narcolepsy can cause “sleep attacks,” which involve falling asleep without warning. Severe drowsiness often causes lapses in attention. EDS involves an urge to sleep that can feel irresistible, and it arises most frequently in monotonous situations.
It can occur at any age, but onset has been found to peak at around age 15 and again around age 35. Narcolepsy occurs roughly equally in men and women and can affect both children and adults. As a result, some estimates place the prevalence of narcolepsy as high as 180 per 100,000. Many patients are not diagnosed with narcolepsy until years after their first symptoms. According to a population based study in Olmstead county Minnesota, NT1 is two to three times more common than NT2, which is estimated to affect between 20 to 67 people per 100,000.Ĭalculating the prevalence of narcolepsy is challenging because of underdiagnosis and delays in diagnosis. NT1 affects between 20 and 67 people per 100,000 in the United States. This change in diagnosis is estimated to occur in about 10% of cases. If a person with NT2 later develops cataplexy or low hypocretin-1 levels, their diagnosis can be reclassified as NT1. NT2 was formerly known as “narcolepsy without cataplexy.” People with NT2 have many similar symptoms as people with NT1, but they do not have cataplexy or low levels of hypocretin-1. NT1 can also be diagnosed when a person has low levels of hypocretin-1, a chemical in the body that helps control wakefulness.Įven when not present at diagnosis, cataplexy eventually occurs in a significant number of people with low levels of hypocretin-1. Not all patients who are diagnosed with NT1 experience episodes of cataplexy. NT1 was formerly known as “narcolepsy with cataplexy.” NT1 is associated with the symptom of cataplexy, which is the sudden loss of muscle tone. TypesĪccording to the International Classification of Sleep Disorders, Third Edition (ICSD-3), there are two types of narcolepsy: narcolepsy type 1 (NT1) and type 2 (NT2). These disruptions also cause daytime sleepiness and other symptoms of narcolepsy. REM occurs quickly in people with narcolepsy because of changes in the brain that disrupt how sleep works. In narcolepsy, REM sleep is irregular and often begins within minutes after falling asleep, which is much earlier than normal.
#Mild narcolepsy without cataplexy series
Normal sleep unfolds through a series of stages, with rapid eye movement (REM) sleep occurring in the final stage, usually an hour or more after falling asleep. Its primary symptom is excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), which occurs because the brain is unable to properly regulate wakefulness and sleep.
Narcolepsy is a disorder that disrupts sleep-wake processes. Understanding the types of narcolepsy and their symptoms, causes, diagnosis, and treatment can empower patients and their loved ones to cope with it more effectively. It is characterized by severe and persistent daytime sleepiness that can cause impairments in school, work, and social settings as well as heighten the risk of serious accidents and injuries.Īlthough rare in comparison to many other sleep disorders, narcolepsy affects hundreds of thousands of Americans, including both children and adults. Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder that is often misunderstood.