In an open-label study, Becker et al29 also found that treatment with modafinil resulted in significantly decreased total mood disturbance. It should be pointed

out that several Selleck Y 27632 preliminary reports show the utility of modafinil as an adjunctive treatment for depressed patients with complaints of significant fatigue and/or excessive sleepiness.30-35 Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical However, despite significant improvements compared with pretreatment, the majority of scores did not return to normal. Some authors have indeed suggested that depression may be endogenous to narcolepsy,7,36 as abnormalities in REM sleep, such as reduced REM sleep latency, are common to depression37 and narcolepsy. Finally, it is worth mentioning that narcolepsy cases in which the hallucinatory component is unusually prominent may lead to the diagnosis of schizophrenia. Douglass et al38 described five narcoleptic cases in which “psychotic symptoms” dominate the symptomatology. Conventional Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical antipsychotic drugs were ineffective, and led the investigators to reconsider the diagnosis. The diagnosis of narcolepsy was ultimately confirmed and treatment with stimulants produced substantial improvement. It seems

clear that the hypnagogic and other hallucinations of narcolepsy could cause difficulties with the differential diagnosis from schizophrenia Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical and, vice versa, narcolepsy should be considered in the differential diagnosis of hallucinations of possible psychotic origin. The hallucinations in narcolepsy are in general visual; sleep paralysis can Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical be associated; and these usually occur when the patient

is half-asleep. Idiopathic hypersomnia Idiopathic hypersomnia is a rare condition. Its prevalence is about 10 times less than narcolepsy and it usually develops before the age of 30. In its polysymptomatic form, idiopathic hypersomnia is characterized by the following: excessive daytime sleepiness (not as irresistible as in narcolepsy, but usually lasting much longer); nocturnal sleep of abnormally long duration; signs of “sleep drunkenness” (difficulties in coming to complete wakefulness accompanied by confusion, disorientation, Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical poor motor coordination, and slowness); and long and unrefreshing naps. The poorly defined monosymptomatic form manifests itself only by excessive daytime sleepiness.39 Complications are mostly social and professional, including poor work performance, reduced earning capacity, poor results at school, impaired ability to enjoy recreational activities, frequent click here accidents, and deteriorated memory for recent events.40 Due to these effects, it is possible to infer the possible psychological impact of the condition in the affected subjects, though no definitive conclusions can be made considering its frequency and the small series of published cases. In their survey, Bassetti and Aldrich41 reported a lifetime prevalence of psychiatric symptoms (anxiety and depressive symptoms) in 57% of patients.