ICSD Is A Reliable Guide To Classifying Narcolepsy

Main Category: Sleep / Sleep Disorders / Insomnia
Article Date: 05 Nov 2006 - 19:00 PDT

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The International Classification of Sleep Disorders-2nd Edition (ICSD-2), a diagnostic and coding manual written and published by the AASM, is a proven effective method of classifying narcolepsy with cataplexy.

The study, conducted by Emmanuel Mignot, MD, PhD, of Stanford University, and colleagues at Catholic University of Korea in Suwon, focused on 163 patients with unexplained sleepiness, who underwent polysomnography and a multiple sleep latency test. (MSLT). The gold standard for diagnosis was ICSD-2. Also included in the study were 282 controls recruited at St. Vincent's Hospital, Korea.

The results showed that ICSD-2 was effective for classifying narcolepsy with cataplexy in 80 percent of patients. The remaining percentage of patients who could not be classified were without cataplexy, a condition characterized by a sudden weakness in a person's leg, arm or face muscles and is normally caused by strong emotions.

"A major finding of the study is that many patients with narcolepsy do not have just narcolepsy, but often have other associated sleep problems, such as disturbed nocturnal sleep or sleep apnea," said Mignot. "This makes the MSLT difficult to interpret, and is especially problematic in cases without typical, clear-cut cataplexy."

Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder that causes people to fall asleep uncontrollably during the day. It also includes features of dreaming that occur while awake. Other common symptoms include sleep paralysis, hallucinations and cataplexy.

Since its introduction in 1990, the ICSD has gained wide acceptance as a tool for clinical practice and research in sleep disorders medicine.

Although each person has an individual sleep need, most adults require an average of seven to eight hours of sleep each night to feel alert and well rested. Studies show that at least one in five adults reports getting an insufficient amount of sleep.

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
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Research shows that sleep loss is linked to serious health problems such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, hypertension, depression, anxiety and diabetes.

Those who think they might have a sleep disorder are encouraged to make an appointment with a specialist at a sleep facility accredited by the AASM.

SLEEP is the official journal of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, LLC, a joint venture of the AASM and the Sleep Research Society.

SleepEducation.com, a Web site maintained by the AASM, provides information about the various sleep disorders that exist, the forms of treatment available, recent news on the topic of sleep, sleep studies that have been conducted and a listing of sleep facilities.

Source: New studies in the November 1st issue of the journal SLEEP

CONTACT:
Jim Arcuri, public relations coordinator
, American Academy of Sleep Medicine

For further information please go to:
American Academy of Sleep Medicine