GC: n

S: WHO – http://www.who.int/vaccine_safety/committee/topics/influenza/pandemic/h1n1_safety_assessing/Dec-2015/en/ (last access: 10 November 2016); NIH – http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/narcolepsy/detail_narcolepsy.htm (last access: 10 November 2016).

N: 1. Narcolepsy comes from French narcolepsie, which was first used by French physician Jean-Baptiste Edouard Gelineau in 1880. This French word came from a combination of Greek narke, meaning stupor or numbness, and lepsis, meaning a seizure.
2. The first convincing descriptions of narcolepsy-cataplexy were reported in Germany by Westphal (1877) (100) and Fisher (1878). The unique association of episodes of muscle weakness triggered by excitement and sleepiness were described in these two reports. Gélineau (1880) is widely recognized for giving narcolepsy its name and for recognizing the disorder as a specific clinical entity.
3. Narcolepsy is a chronic brain disorder that involves poor control of sleep-wake cycles. People with narcolepsy experience periods of extreme daytime sleepiness and sudden, irresistible bouts of sleep that can strike at any time. These “sleep attacks” usually last a few seconds to several minutes. The condition is life-long. Narcolepsy is not rare, but it is an underrecognized and underdiagnosed condition.
4. People with narcolepsy experience various types of day- and nighttime sleep problems that are associated with REM sleep disturbances that tend to begin subtly and may change dramatically over time. In addition to daytime sleepiness, other major symptoms may include cataplexy (a sudden loss of voluntary muscle tone while awake that makes a person go limp or unable to move), vivid dream-like images or hallucinations, as well as total paralysis just before falling asleep or just after waking-up.
5. Cultural Interrelation: We can mention the film My Own Private Idaho, directed by the american director Gus Van Sant in 1991. Mike Waters, one of the main characters in the film, suffers from narcolepsy.

S: 1. WYZ – http://goo.gl/a8RTDL (last access: 11 November 2016). 2. SMED – http://goo.gl/ODvv32 (last access: 11 November 2016). 3 & 4. NIH – http://goo.gl/jRMp4r (last access: 11 November 2016). 5. AV – http://goo.gl/Mnb97T (last access: 11 November 2016)

SYN: Gélineau syndrome, paroxysmal sleep.

S: TERMIUM PLUS – http://goo.gl/XJGFQ5 (last access: 16 November 2016).

CR: African trypanosomiasis , amnesia, insomnia, narcosis, narcotic (2), somnolence, syndrome.