Narcolepsy in a three-year-old girl: A case report

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Eu Gene Park1, Jiwon Lee1, Eun Yeon Joo2

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.

Brain & Development
|July 2, 2015
PubMed

Insights

Early recognition of narcolepsy in children is crucial. This case highlights narcolepsy with cataplexy in a three-year-old, emphasizing the importance of polysomnography and MSLT for diagnosis.

Area of Science:

  • Neurology
  • Sleep Medicine

Background:

  • Narcolepsy, a chronic neurological disorder, presents with excessive daytime sleepiness, sleep paralysis, hallucinations, and cataplexy.
  • Early diagnosis in pediatric cases is vital for proper growth and development.

Observation:

  • A three-year-old girl exhibited symptoms suggestive of narcolepsy.
  • Diagnostic evaluations included brain MRI, 24-hour video-EEG, polysomnography (PSG) with multiple sleep latency test (MSLT), and HLA DQ typing.

Findings:

  • Brain MRI results were normal.
  • 24-hour video-EEG showed no epileptiform discharges and no changes during cataplexy events.
  • PSG with MSLT revealed a mean sleep latency of 2.5 minutes and four sleep-onset REM periods, with positive HLA-DQB1*0602 typing.

Implications:

  • The combination of clinical history, PSG, and MSLT facilitated the diagnosis of narcolepsy with cataplexy.
  • This case underscores the presentation of early-onset narcolepsy with excessive sleepiness and cataplexy in young children.
Abstract

Keywords:
CataplexyNarcolepsyToddler

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