Sleeping beauty syndrome is rare and serious neurological disorder. This disorder strike teens primarily but it can also occur in younger children and adults. People with this disorder may experience hypersomnia, hypersexuality, and mood changes.
What is it?
Kleine Levin Syndrome is a sleeping disorder in which a person feels very sleepy and sleeps for most of the day and night. The episode of Kleine Levin Syndrome may continue for 10 years and more. Patient are not able to perform their daily work, and are consumed by lethargy. A person with this problem finds it impossible to care for himself and cannot even attend school, collage, and work. Patient may go on with this situation for a period of days, weeks, months, and even years.
Its symptoms and causes
Its main symptoms may include excessive food intake, mood swings, depression, abnormal sex drive, excessive sleep, and stress. An individual may feel very depressed and may not able to perform his work efficiently. It mostly affects males as compared to women, approximately 70 percent of those troubled with these disease are men. This disorder takes the patient into a very abnormal situation, as they may not be able to remember afterwards everything that happens during the episode.
The causes of KLS are still in the dark but hypothalamic dysfunction may be one of the major causes of this problem. Patients with hypothalamic dysfunction also experience similar symptoms. Chemical and hormonal imbalance in the body can also lead to this problem.
Its diagnosis and treatment
Diagnosis of KLS can be little tricky as person with this problem can experience similar symptoms that patient with hypothalamic tumor experience. Doctors have trouble diagnosing the problem as its symptoms can be confusing. KLS can be diagnosed only after its second episode and this condition is generally treated as a diagnosis of exclusion. MRI can be very useful to diagnose KLS. Symptoms like strokes, multiple sclerosis can affect their brain, and MRI can play a big role to identify the state of the brain of the patient.
Various therapies and drugs can effectively treat KLS. Drugs like amphetamines, modafini, and methylphenidate can help an individual to deal with this problem. Unfortunately, such medicines have multiple side effects like anxiety and irritability. Treatment of the problem often depends on the condition of the patient and severity of the ailment, which may vary person to person.
Summary
Kleine Levin Syndrome is a rare sleeping syndrome, which includes excessive sleep. People with this problem may experience mood swings, depression, and multiple sclerosis.
