What is involved in the diagnosis of narcolepsy?
narcolepsy is a neurological disorder that affects part of the brain responsible for regulating the states upwards or sleeping. Some potential symptoms of narcolepsy include extreme drowsiness during the day or spontaneously falling asleep, even in the middle of activities such as work or driving. Getting an accurate diagnosis of narcolepsy can sometimes be difficult because some symptoms may mimic other conditions. When trying to diagnose this condition, study tests are often performed and the spinal cord analysis is often performed. Scientists have found a decline in this chemical among those suffering from narcolepsy. Research is carried out to find a way to supplement this chemical deficiency in patience who obtained a diagnosis of narcolepsy. It is assumed that both inheritance and environmental factors can play a role in who develops narcolepsy.
Many times, the patient's experience is an extreme daily drowsiness. This prevents or delays many people in finding a diagnosis of narcolepsy. Sometimes this state is incorrectly diagnosisforged as epilepsy or sleep disorder that is not related to narcolepsy because some symptoms are remarkably similar. In fact, it can obtain a diagnosis of narcolepsy sometime for several months or even several years.
In finding the diagnosis of narcolepsy, the patient should write all symptoms, even those that seem to have nothing to do with sleep disorder. This often helps doctors to know which tests should be ordered to obtain the correct diagnosis. Often the sleep questionnaire is filled as a scale of sleepiness Epworth to provide more detailed information for doctors who specialize in sleep disorders.
The patient may be accepted at a clinic or hospital over Nocpro sleep test known as a night polysomnogram. This test measures eye movement and electrical activity in the brain and heart while the patient sleeps. This may be particularly useful in trying to diagnose narcolepsy. OtherThe type of sleep test, called a test of multiple latency of sleep, measures the time the patient takes to fall asleep.
The newer test used to obtain the diagnosis of narcolepsy is called the spinal cord analysis. In this test, the spinal sample is removed from the body through the procedure known as the backbone tap or lumbar puncture. The chemical levels known as hypocretin are then analyzed. The absence of this chemical in the spinal cord can lead to a definitive diagnosis of narcolepsy.