REM sleep episodes during the Multple Sleep Latency Test in narcoleptic patients

Forty narcoleptic patients were given the Multiple Sleep Latency Test, consisting of 20 min opportunities to sleep offered at 10.00, 12.00, 14.00, 16.00 and 18.00 o'clock. Eleven patients had 2 episodes of REM sleep, 5 had 3, 11 had 4, and 13 had 5 before they were awakened. Fourteen control subjects given similar opportunities to sleep (reported in a companion article (Richardson et al. 1978)) had no REM sleep episodes. For the 10.00-18.00 o'clock opportunities respectively, there were 32, 29, 30, 28 and 27 REM sleep episodes. We conclude that this procedure can provide physicians with data useful in the diagnosis of narcolepsy.