Narcolepsy can be best explained as:
A. A sudden muscle weakness during exercise.
B. Stopping breathing for short intervals during sleep.
C. Frequent awakenings during the night.
D. An overwhelming wave of sleepiness and falling asleep.
Correct Answer: D. An overwhelming wave of sleepiness and falling asleep.
Narcolepsy is a dysfunction of mechanisms that regulate the sleep and wake states. Excessive daytime sleepiness is the most common complaint associated with this disorder. During the day a person may suddenly feel an overwhelming wave of sleepiness and fall asleep; REM sleep can occur within 15 minutes of falling asleep. The condition is often under-diagnosed and delays of 5-10 years are common before making a firm diagnosis. Close to 50% of patients develop symptoms in their teenage years.
Option A: Cataplexy is a sudden, often bilateral muscle weakness lasting a few seconds to a couple of minutes in response to increased emotion (typically laughter) during which patients remain conscious. Cataplexy can also be brought on by excitement, anger, grief, or any intense emotion.
Option B: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is characterized by episodes of the complete or partial collapse of the airway with an associated decrease in oxygen saturation or arousal from sleep. This disturbance results in fragmented, nonrestorative sleep.
Option C: Hypnagogic hallucinations are visual, auditory, or tactile dream-like experiences that occur as patients are falling asleep or just waking up. They can typically see human faces or experience a feeling like someone else is in the room. Additionally, these patients have significantly fragmented nighttime sleep.
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