Case Study of a Narcoleptic Patient with a Family History of Narcolepsy

Case Report

Psychiatry Investigation 2007;4(2):121-3.

Yoon-Kyung Shin, MD;Seung-Chul Hong, MD, PhD;Youn-Jung Cho, MD;Jong-Hyun Jeong, MD, PhD;Jin-Hee Han, MD, PhD; and Sung-Pil Lee, MD, PhD

Department of Neuropsychiatry, St. Vincent's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, Suwon, Korea

Abstract

<p class="MsoPlainText" style="word-spacing: 1; line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="left"><font face="HY중고딕" size="2">Narcolepsy is characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness, and this is typically associated with cataplexy and other rapid eye movement (REM) sleep phenomena such as sleep paralysis and hypnagogic hallucinations. These narcoleptic symptoms have been occasionally misdiagnosed as depression, seizure or even schizophrenia. The female patient (age=22 years) introduced here had experienced excessive daytime sleepiness, severe cataplexy and sleep paralysis. However, she didn't know the cause of her symptoms in spite of having visited hospitals several times for five years. Her father had also suffered from excessive daytime sleepiness since his early twenties. He had been diagnosed with depression and then took antidepressants; however, his sleepiness and fatigue didn't improve. This case history focuses on the diagnostic and therapeutic aspects of a patient with familial excessive daytime sleepiness.

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Key words Narcolepsy;Family;Excessive somnolence;Cataplexy.