Narcolepsy and disorders of excessive somnolence

In 1880, Jean Baptiste Gelineau gave the name narcolepsy to a syndrome associated with irresistible sleep attacks and episodic muscular atonia. Idiopathic narcolepsy is a central nervous system disorder that is evidenced as excessive daytime somnolence and the abnormal rapid eye movement sleep phenomena that are recognized as cataplexy, sleep paralysis, and hypnagogic hallucinations. In 1957, Yoss and Daly named this classic symptom combination the clinical tetrad. Although the symptoms of idiopathic narcolepsy generally begin in puberty, they have been reported in preteenaged children and in adults up to 68 years of age. Excessive sleepiness is mandatory for diagnosis and is usually the first symptom of a life-long problem that has the potential for producing major occupational, social, and psychologic problems.