Always falling asleep in class? It may be a rare disease!

Science Fiction Network, November 28 (Jin Kaiyi) According to Lizhi News, an 18-year-old high school girl named Xiao Wang in Jiangsu has always had a sleepiness problem. She always dozes off in class and can even fall asleep while standing, which has had a significant impact on her studies. The hospital diagnosed Xiao Wang with a rare disease called "narcolepsy". What exactly is it?

The "Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Narcolepsy in China" released by the Neurology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association mentioned that narcolepsy is a rare disease in neurology, which is more common in adolescents under the age of 20. The main clinical manifestations are long-term poor sleep at night and frequent and irresistible short sleeps during the day, often accompanied by cataplexy, sleep paralysis, sleep hallucinations and other symptoms, collectively known as the narcolepsy tetrad.

There are no global statistics on the incidence of narcolepsy. However, the incidence of narcolepsy is about one in 2,000, much higher than the incidence of ALS, which is one in 100,000. There are currently about 700,000 narcolepsy patients in the country, and most of them develop the disease when they are around seven or eight years old.

At present, the cause of narcolepsy has not been fully clarified. It is generally believed that it is caused by the loss of neurons that produce hypocretin in the hypothalamus, but there are also claims that genetics is also a basic cause of narcolepsy.

Some patients who develop the disease in adolescence can gradually recover or have their symptoms alleviated as they age, but most patients who develop the disease in adults will continue to suffer from it for life. In addition to the pain caused by the disease itself, they will also have certain psychological effects, such as inferiority, depression, anxiety and other emotions. Therefore, in addition to drug treatment, corresponding psychological counseling, psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, etc. should also be given.