service dog for narcolepsy without cataplexy

#Service dog for narcolepsy without cataplexy how to

Narcolepsy patients who desire children or those who know they are pregnant should most definitely contact their physician. Medication during pregnancy and lactation Just a handful of studies have addressed the impact of narcolepsy on pregnancy.

#Service dog for narcolepsy without cataplexy how to

Narcolepsy during Pregnancy and LactationĪs the symptoms of narcolepsy frequently start in early adulthood, it is quite important to know how to deal with narcolepsy during pregnancy. Roth T, Dauvilliers Y, Mignot E, Montplaisir J, Paul J, Swick T, et al.Deutsche Gesellschaft für Neurologie - Leitlinien Narkolepsie.

Clinical aspects and pathophysiology of narcolepsy. Dauvilliers Y, Billiard M, Montplaisir J.Los Angeles: University of California, Brain Information Service/Brain Research Institute. Bonvalet M, Ollila HM, Ambati A, Mignot E.Reduced number of hypocretin neurons in human narcolepsy. Thannickal TC, Moore RY, Nienhuis R, Ramanathan L, Gulyani S, Aldrich M, et al.Localized loss of hypocretin (orexin) cells in narcolepsy without cataplexy. Hypocretin (orexin) deficiency in human narcolepsy. Nishino S, Ripley B, Overeem S, Lammers GJ, Mignot E.Longstreth WT, Koepsell TD, Ton TG, Hendrickson AF, van Belle G.Episodes of cataplexy can be triggered by emotions such as laughing, anger or surprise and usually last only a few seconds (10). It ranges from mild cases, in which for example the facial muscles go limp, to severe forms, where a patient loses the strength to stay upright and drops. CataplexyĬataplexy is the term for a brief temporary loss of muscles tonus. This could last from a few seconds to some minutes and can be a very frightening experience (7). Patients with narcolepsy, in contrast, often suffer from sleep paralysis at the beginning or end of sleep and they may consciously experience being paralysed. In healthy people sleep paralysis, which is the total inability to move, is normal during sleep and prevents them moving around while dreaming. The hallucinations are mainly perceived as threatening or unpleasant (7). These can include seeing, hearing or touching things that don’t exist in reality but are often experienced as highly realistic. Narcolepsy patients often suffer from intense hallucinations while falling asleep or waking up. Disturbed sleep at nightĪ less well-known but common symptom of narcolepsy is disturbed sleep at night, in which patients wake up frequently (9). One consequence of daytime sleepiness may be ‘automatic behaviours’ in which patients continue activities being half-asleep - these actions may be executed with errors or purposeless (7). These naps are often very short, and the patients feel refreshed and more alert afterwards (7,9).

They feel tired and lethargic during the day and may fall asleep suddenly. Patients often describe it as irresistible and uncontrollable. The sleepiness during daytime is the central symptom of narcolepsy. The intensity of the symptoms can be very different from one patient to another, and some symptoms (e.g. The classic symptoms of narcolepsy include abnormal sleepiness during the day, disturbed sleep at night, hallucinations, sleep paralysis and cataplexy. Instead of spending time in the “non-REM' phases of stable and deep sleep, patients go into REM phase shortly after falling asleep (7). In people with narcolepsy, the sleep cycles are disturbed. In the REM phase, the person’s eyes move around quickly while their eyelids are closed, and this is the phase in which we have most of our dreams (6). A normal sleep cycle includes phases with stable and deep sleep, followed by a phase with rapid eye movement (REM). Healthy people sleep in cycles of about 90 minutes each. Among people who have a genetic disposition towards this autoimmune condition, the risk of developing the disease may be increased by infections or by the vaccination against swine flu (5). The probability of this type of autoimmune reaction is partly inherited. Certain cells in this area are irreversibly damaged by an autoimmune process – that is, the patient's own immune system has attacked the cells in this brain region. In most people with narcolepsy, the small region of their brain where orexin is produced is not working properly. Orexin is a natural hormone produced in our brain that helps us to stay awake (2-4).