Narcolepsy    

Narcolepsy can be regarded as an extreme form of Hypersomnia. However, it is not certain that the two disorders are versions of the same underlying disorder, although some people with Hypersomnia behave much like people with mild Narcolepsy. 

In Narcolepsy, the person has irresistible episodes of sleep over a period of at least 3 months. In addition, victims usually have either cataplexy (sudden loss of muscle tone) or hallucinatory experiences at the beginning or end of sleep attacks. 

Again, all the usual suspects must be excluded, and the disorder must cause significant distress or impairment (an easy criterion to fulfill in the case of Narcolepsy; but, amazingly, most victims don't seek help until years after the onset). 

Some patients are helped by treatment with stimulants, but many symptoms of Narcolepsy are likely to be chronic. The disorder seldom appears before adolescence or after age 40, although there are exceptions. There appear to be genetic factors in Narcolepsy, as well as in other associated mental disorders; depression and anxiety, understandably, are among the most common ones.  

On August 31, 2000, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that researchers at Stanford University and at the University of California at Los Angeles, publishing in the journal, Neuron, discovered that most of the cells that produce a hormone called hypocretin (also called orexin) were dead in the brains of people with narcolepsy. The hormone was already known to have a role in sleep regulation; hence, this knowledge may lead to better drug treatments for narcolepsy. 
 
The Narcolepsy Network  can be reached for further information.