Sleeping Sickness: A W5 investigation into the sudden rise in childhood narcolepsy

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.ctvnews.ca/w5/sleeping-s...sudden-rise-in-childhood-narcolepsy-1.1524420

Sleeping Sickness: A W5 investigation into the sudden rise in childhood narcolepsy
Avis Favaro & Elizabeth St. Philip, W5
Published Saturday, November 2, 2013 9:00AM EDT

It's a medical mystery. Why are children all around the world developing severe narcolepsy -- a rare sleeping disorder with no known cure?

It is a question that Christine and Ian pondered after their perfectly healthy daughter developed symptoms, shortly after being hospitalized with a flu like infection in 2011.

Makenna was once an alert and active young girl but now she falls asleep without warning.

Christine and Ian are looking into how their perfectly healthy daughter developed symptoms of severe narcolepsy, shortly after being hospitalized with a flu like infection in 2011.
narcolepsy in children

"For me it has all the elements of a detective story," said Dr. Emmanuel Mignot, director of the Stanford Center for Sleep Sciences and Medicine, and one of the world?s leading experts on narcolepsy.

Her parents took Makenna off her medication temporarily to show W5 the effects of the disorder. As they play a board game in the kitchen, her head starts to bob and then Makenna face hits the table...

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Sleeping Sickness: A W5 investigation into the sudden rise in childhood narcolepsy

Source: http://www.ctvnews.ca/w5/narcolepsy-w5-fact-file-1.1524679

Narcolepsy: W5 Fact File
W5
Published Saturday, November 2, 2013 9:00AM EDT

Narcolepsy is an under-recognized and underdiagnosed condition. Many patients say it takes years to get a proper diagnosis. Some cases are mistakenly labelled as ADHD or depression. Children struggle in school and can be placed in classes for the learning disabled. Yet many teachers, parents even doctors may not realize is that the symptoms are due to narcolepsy.

Some of the families we interviewed took us it took over a year to get properly diagnosed. Once diagnosed, patients often struggle to get the right mixture of medications, to help patient stay awake and sleep properly, while preventing the cataplexy attacks. Doctors are hoping to find better treatments.

The increase in cases of narcolepsy in various countries is leading to more research into the condition with the possible link to H1N1 -- the first time that a virus has been directly linked to Narcolepsy. We believe people should be aware of this research. The flu can cause a lot of nasty problems, some we still don?t yet know about.

It also raises questions about the possible role of a vaccine used only for a short time during the 2009 pandemic.

NOTE: There is NO LINK with the annual flu shot which remains an important public health tool.

What exactly is Narcolepsy and Cataplexy?...