Narcolepsy, Along with an Update

Narcolepsy is the most common primary hypersomnia, which is caused by loss of hypocretin neurons. Hypocretin in the neurohypothalamus is of crucial role in the maintenance of awakeness. Narcolepsy is characterized by hypnagogic/hypnopompic hallucinations, sleep paralysis and disrupted night sleep in addition to hypersomnia. Cataplexy is the pathognomonic feature of narcolepsy observed in 60-90% of all cases. As the clinical characteristics of narcolepsy may be confused with various other sypmtoms or signs, diagnostic difficulty is common in narcoleptic patients. Besides this, classification of narcolepsy has recently been changed and recommended as type 1 and type 2 rather than narcolepsy with or without cataplexy. Here, an update on narcolepsy is presented along with a comprehensive summary that can help to overcome the challenges in the diagnosis of narcolepsy. (JTSM 2015;1:1-6)