Legend has it that Sleeping Beauty has put her finger in it and since then her destiny is to sleep until the man of her life, a handsome prince charming, wakes her up with a kiss, but in the case of people with Kleine syndrome- Levin, It was not necessary to stick a finger in a needle, and no matter how much the love of your life holds you, you won’t wake up to at least eighteen consecutive hours of sleep.
Sleeping Beauty or Kleine-Levin syndrome involves sleeping for extended periods, ranging from nearly a whole day to weeks; the patient has a drowsiness that he cannot control, which leads him to a state of hypersomnia; other symptoms include compulsive feeding as soon as they eat during their long periods of sleep), disorientation (both in time and space), aggressive behaviors, impaired mental abilities and even hallucinations. In short, nothing is more romantic than in the fairy tale that gives name to this disorder.
- Once the seizure has passed.
- Patients with Kleine-Levin syndrome return to normal.
- But they may suffer from amnesia or changes in short-term memory because they can barely remember their period of intense sleep.
- Also.
- Due to the considerable amount of time they spend.
- They spend asleep.
- Suffer from social.
- Work and emotional deterioration.
- Unable to carry out their daily activities.
This type of neurological disorder is rare. It usually occurs in male adolescents and sometimes in women, the first cases were recorded in the 1920s and, although few patients have been diagnosed since then, the lack of information on the subject can lead to much more confusion with other mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia.
The cause of Sleeping Beauty Syndrome is not yet known, some studies indicate that it is a hypothalamus disorder accompanied by other brain developmental abnormalities, and so far, treatments have not been effective in definitively eliminating the syndrome. Certainly, he’s not in a romantic kiss from a magical tale. Only 20% of patients have stopped having episodes on average in six years, but it is not yet known whether this is a permanent cure.
However, many people with sleeping beauty syndrome have responded well to lithium salt therapy as well as psychological support to deal with the consequences of their sleep attacks. Combining psychotherapy and medication with the same disease progression can lead to favorable prognosis.
In this way, those who sleep more than necessary can wake up alone and discover that life is much more than sleep.
Image courtesy of Neil Krug.