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Escitalopram for recurrent isolated sleep paralysis
Jonathan P Hintze1, Dominic Gault1
1Division of Pediatric Sleep Medicine, University of South Carolina, Prisma Health, Greenville, SC, USA.
Abstract:
Recurrent isolated sleep paralysis can be very disturbing and provoke anxiety. The majority of patients can be treated conservatively with cognitive and behavioural therapies. However, some patients may benefit from a pharmacologic intervention. With only scant available evidence, there are currently no standardized pharmacologic treatment recommendations for recurrent isolated sleep paralysis. We report the first two cases of escitalopram used to successfully treat recurrent isolated sleep paralysis. Escitalopram, the most selective of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, generally improves subjective sleep quality, making it an appealing treatment option.
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