Signs and symptoms associated with cataplexy in narcolepsy patients.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Adult↗
Biomedical subjects
L D Rosenthal
Publications and source records attributed to L D Rosenthal.
Hypnotics and behavior.
Evaluation of the effects of hypnotics on waking behavior has primarily focused on two issues: (1) how these drugs affect performance the day after a nightly dose; and (2) how they affect memory processes, with special emphasis on anterograde amnesia. In terms of the relations between pharmacologic properties and residual effects, three conclusions can be drawn. First, dose is a major determinant of the presence or absence of morning effects. Every drug studied to date, if given in high enough dose, has produced morning performance decrements. Second, the longer-acting a compound, the more likely it is that a performance decrement will be observed. Finally, some data suggest that behavioral tolerance to the residual effects of hypnotics develops. The observation that benzodiazepines produce amnesia emerged from reports of their clinical use as presurgery medications. Although the initial reports involved intravenous diazepam and were anecdotal in nature, subsequent studies have demonstrated that amnesia is a characteristic of all the benzodiazepines, with the magnitude of the effect being a function of route of administration, dose, and the pharmacokinetics of the particular drug.
Anti-Anxiety Agents↗
Subjective and polysomnographic characteristics of patients diagnosed with narcolepsy.
In order to better characterize the subjective and polysomnographic findings in patients with narcolepsy, a follow-up questionnaire was mailed to all patients diagnosed with the disorder at the Henry Ford Hospital Sleep Disorders and Research Center. The questionnaire inquired regarding the present, previous, and change in status for the constellation of narcolepsy symptoms. Memory problems, problems of daytime function, and nocturnal sleep disturbance were included among the questions related to the symptomatic constellation. By definition, all patients were symptomatic of daytime sleepiness and were diagnosed with narcolepsy only if there were two or more rapid eye movement (REM) onsets documented on the polysomnographic evaluation. A high percentage of patients reported nocturnal sleep disturbance, which was one of the symptoms with the latest reported onset. Retrospective comparison of questionnaire responses to the clinical polysomnography revealed significantly more sleep maintenance difficulties in the group of patients reporting this symptom on the questionnaire. Patients with disturbed nocturnal sleep reported taking more naps during the day, although the Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT) failed to show differences in sleep latency. Interestingly, this group of patients was found to have a significantly higher number of sleep onset REM episodes on the MSLT. Finally, the findings are discussed as they compare to studies that required the presence of cataplexy as part of their inclusion criteria.
Adult↗