SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF NARCOLEPSY

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF NARCOLEPSY


Narcolepsy is also known as hypolepsy, and it is a chronic disorder leading to loss of the ability to control sleep and wake cycles normally. Patients usually experience a tendency to feel sleepy during the daytime. Diagnosis is easy if all the symptoms are present. This is an evolutionary atavism. Patients can be helped but never fully cured. Treatment is done on the basis of the symptoms of the patient. Treatment might take longer than several months. The main treatment for excessive daytime sleepiness is methylphenidate, amphetamine, modafinil and armodafinil. This disease affects more people than those that are diagnosed. 

It is as widespread as Parkinson's disease. Medications to deal with excessive sleepiness are also under development. Some forms of medications to help combating this disease is; Flumazenil: which is the only GABA receptor in the market; it is only available as an intravenous formulation and is considered to be a promising medication treatment. Clarithromycin: the test tube model shows that it has returned primary hypersomnia to normality; most patients have recovered quickly with this treatment. Sometimes Orexin might be used on patients who act as a regulator of wakefulness; there are currently no synthetic forms available.

Being a chronic disorder this disease shows some unique symptoms for a longer period of time though the symptoms may vary from person to person according to the severity of the disease. Appearance of severe symptoms does not occur usually if the treatment gets started in the proper time just after the appearance of the symptoms. 

Signs and symptoms of Narcolepsy which are commonly seen in the body of the affected persons are as follows:
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  •      Weakness: Body might not feel up to its mark as there is lack of nourishment and insufficient energy generated by the body for its use.
  • ·         Limpness at the neck and knees: Pain and stiffness on the neck might be felt and mobility becomes a problem associated with pain and discomfort.
  • ·         Sagging facial muscles: The muscles on the face begin to sag and hang loosely from the face due to lack of nourishment.
  • ·         Inability to speak clearly : Speech might become slurry and not understandable
  • ·         Complete body collapse: The entire body might collapse or shut down due to lack of nourishment and energy production.
  • ·         Emotional reactions: Sudden outbursts of anger, crying, laughing, etc. might be experienced.
  • ·         Sleep paralysis: sometimes loss of the ability to move during sleep may occur; it is frightening most of the time and may lead to other complications.
  • ·         Frozen body parts: After waking up from sleep, the body might seem stiff and unable to come up with any movement at all. This may take a few minutes or even more to find some amount of normality.
  • ·         Hallucinations: Due to weakness the subconscious mind may begin to function in the place of the larger brain, leading to dreams seeming to be reality.
  • ·         Automatic behavior: During sleep patients may continue their normal behavior such as talking or other activities. Sleepless nights are often observed which may be called as insomnia.

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