[Narcolepsy, an epidemic?]

Narcolepsy, was first described in 1880, is a chronic, disabling disease characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness and abnormal REM manifestations. It is estimated that, in Brazil, 15,000 to 150,000 cases may exist, but is was only since the first sleep laboratories were installed in the country that the disease began to be recognized. It created a sudden increase in the number of diagnosis which actually simulates an epidemics in the medical records. The existence of a sleep laboratory, however, is not necessary for the diagnosis of the disease. An informed clinician can identify it during the interview. The goal of this paper is to inform about the clinical, diagnostic, and therapeutic aspects of the disease through the report of four selected cases.