Word Finder - narcolepsy

definition

A disorder characterized by sudden and uncontrollable attacks of deep sleep, often brief, sometimes accompanied by paralysis and hallucinations

example

Excitement-induced narcolepsy caused him to sleep through the most important events of his life.

My usual symptoms were extreme tiredness to the point I was convinced I had narcolepsy.

Malfunction of the orexin system causes narcolepsy in mice, rats, dogs and humans.

Stimulants, which are often prescribed to treat the sleep disorder narcolepsy and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, produce feelings of alertness and increased energy.

The causes of narcolepsy are not fully known.

Narcolepsy is a field in which doctors are working hard to fully understand the causes.

Genes inherited from parents may lead to individuals being more prone to narcolepsy.

Another theory on the cause of narcolepsy includes a deficiency.

The causes of narcolepsy are still undetermined, but there are a variety of studies and research facilities working to have a better understanding of the condition.

Doctors do believe that genes may be behind narcolepsy to some level.

Perhaps the most likely cause of narcolepsy is from a combination of factors, including any of those listed here.

In individuals who have narcolepsy, the sleep cycle is disturbed.

The causes of narcolepsy may be the inability of the brain to regulate the sleep cycle, in particular the sleep and awake mechanisms.

Narcolepsy is a condition to be concerned about.

A loss of time is also a common indication of a sleep disorder like narcolepsy.

While the cause of narcolepsy is not fully understood, doctors can help treat it.

Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder that has been subject to comedic portrayals on screen and within books.

For this reason, many people with narcolepsy aren't properly diagnosed with this disorder, or are never diagnosed at all.

Narcolepsy is much more serious than the comedic portrayals found in the media.

People who suffer from narcolepsy can be treated but there is not a cure available.

Researchers hypothesize that narcolepsy is a result of dysfunction within the body's sleep cycle regulation, but they do not know how to prevent this disorder from developing or how to completely stop it once it does manifest in a person.

The fact that there is no known cure for narcolepsy prompts further research as medical professionals strive to find a way to cure and prevent this neurological disorder.

Narcolepsy is presumed to be highly underreported, in many cases because it isn't properly diagnosed.

As more research is conducted and more people are diagnosed with narcolepsy there is a chance that research efforts will be increased and more funding will be designated for research on narcolepsy.

Narcolepsy brain research suggests that there may be a genetic link with regards to the neurological condiiton.

In other words, people who have family members with narcolepsy have an increased chance of having narcolepsy as well.

This research also reveals that narcolepsy is indeed a neurological disorder as opposed to being something psychological.

Researchers conducting examinations of human and animal brains surmise that a deficiency of cells called hypocretin may be a cause for narcolepsy.

It was discovered that most people who have narcolepsy also have this hormone deficiency, although the same assumption may not be reliable with animal subjects.

Research reveals that people suffer from narcolepsy in widely varying degrees.

On the other side of the spectrum, severe narcolepsy can force a person into sleep abruptly and without warning, especially when startled or feeling a strong emotion.

Cataplexy, which is the sudden paralysis that severe narcolepsy can induce, is a characteristic of narcolepsy that does not manifest itself in other sleep disorders.

Medical research facilities conducting research on narcolepsy view this neurological disorder as a serious issue and do not regard it in a comedic light.

The premier research facility for narcolepsy is the Stanford School of Medicine Center for Narcolepsy, but sleep centers around the world conduct research on this disorder as well.

Hartford Memorial Hospital's Sleep Disorder Center offers help for people who have a number of sleep problems, including sleep apena, narcolepsy and periodic limb movement disorder.

Narcolepsy is an often-misunderstood sleep disorder, and this misunderstanding has shaped the history of narcolepsy for the past 300 years.

In fact, several major advances in narcolepsy knowledge have only happened in the past 20 years.

While narcolepsy symptoms have probably been around since the beginning of time, the recorded history of narcolepsy begins in the 17th century with Oxford physician Thomas Willis.

Interestingly, Willis also suggested caffeine as a treatment for narcolepsy, and stimulants have played a big part in the therapy of narcolepsy throughout history.

Willis' early descriptions of narcolepsy did not identify a cause for the disorder, and the early theories of what caused narcolepsy were unorthodox, at best.

Dr. Westphal was the first to clinically describe narcolepsy as a physical disorder which often manifests along with cataplexy, episodes of sudden loss of muscle tone while a person is awake.

In 1880, Dr. Jean-Baptiste-Edouard Gélineau coined the term narcolepsy, from the Greek words narke, meaning "stupor" or "numbness," and lepsis, meaning "to seize."

Using the term "narcolepsy" to mean all disorders that caused daytime sleepiness, this included illnesses that were not actually sleep disorders such as lethargic encephalitis.

The latter half of the 20th century was an exciting time in the history of narcolepsy, and one major development occurred in 1957 when Mayo clinic doctors Robert Yoss and David Daly officially united the four classic narcolepsy symptoms.

This new unity firmly established the "narcoleptic tetrad" as the definitive diagnostic criteria for narcolepsy.

Progress continued with Stanford University professor Dr. William Dement's establishment of the first narcolepsy clinic in San Francisco following an overwhelming local response to his recruitment efforts for a narcolepsy study.

Dr. Dement went on to team with Dr. Merrill Mitler to examine genetic factors as a cause for narcolepsy, using dogs as the subjects for breeding experiments.

The first litter of narcoleptic dogs was born in 1976, positively proving that narcolepsy could be passed down in families.

In the 1990s, researchers discovered specific information about the genetics of narcolepsy in the form of the HLA-DR2 allele.

The discovery of the role of hypocretin in narcolepsy is the most recent and one of the most significant discoveries in the study of the disorder.

The study of narcolepsy is continually evolving, with new therapies being tried and new discoveries about the origins of narcolepsy discovered.