Archive for the ‘Hallucinations’ Category

Nightmares

Thursday, August 16th, 2007

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A nightmare is a very distressing dream which can lead to partial awakening. The individual can feel any number of disturbing emotions in a nightmare, such as anger, guilt, sadness or depression, but the most commonly known feelings are fear and anxiety. Nightmares can take on many different themes and also be recurring. Probably the most common theme is being chased. Adults are commonly chased by an unknown male figure whereas children are commonly chased by an animal or some fantasy figure.

Just about everyone has experienced nightmares at one time or another. The majority of children have nightmares between the ages of three and eight. These nightmares appear to be a part of normal child development, and do not generally signal any unusual problems. Nightmares have been known to be less common in adults, though studies have shown about 5-lO% of adults have nightmares once a month or more frequently.

Some nightmares can be triggered by certain drugs or medications (by rapid withdrawal from them), or by a physical condition such as illness and fever. The nightmares of early childhood likely reflect the struggle to learn to deal with normal childhood fears and problems.

Some people can experience nightmares after they have suffered a traumatic event, such as surgery, the loss of a loved one, an assault or a severe accident. The nightmares of combat veterans fall into this category. The content of these nightmares is typically directly related to the traumatic event and the nightmares often occur over and over. Other people experience nightmares when they are undergoing stress in their waking lives, such as difficulty or change on the job or with a loved one, moving home, pregnancy, financial concerns, etc. Finally, some people experience frequent nightmares that seem unrelated to their waking lives. These people tend to be more creative, sensitive, trusting and emotional than average

Sometimes nightmares are related to intense stress or emotional conflict that is best dealt with in consultation with a therapist. One should not hesitate to consult a doctor when in doubt.

Research has shown that many people are not really disturbed by their nightmares, even though the experiences themselves are distressing. About half of people who have quite frequent nightmares regard them as fascinating and creative acts of their minds, and either view them as very interesting or dismiss them as “just dreams”. This illustrates the fact that your attitude toward nightmares is quite important.

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Narcolepsy

Thursday, August 16th, 2007

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Narcolepsy is a neurological condition which causes a malfunction with the sleep/wake regulating system in the brain, the most common side effect of this disorder is excessive sleeping and sleep attacks.

One of the main characteristics of the condition is the intrusion of rapid eye movement (REM). In non-narcoleptic people, rapid eye movement sleep doesn’t occur until sleep has been underway for some time. However, in people with narcolepsy, REM sleep can happen the instance sleep occurs.

Symptoms of Narcolepsy:

  • Temporary paralysis on falling asleep or sudden awakening
  • Hallucinations - images or sounds - on falling asleep or awakening (The medical term for these symptoms are Hypnagogic and hypnopompic hallucinations respectively)
  • Moments of trance-like behaviour in which routine tasks are continued on “auto-pilot” (Automatic behaviour)
  • Frequent interruption of night-time sleep by waking periods, often with a quickening of the heart rate, over-alertness, hot flushes, agitation, and intense cravings

Narcolepsy usually begins in adolescence but some cases have been noted earlier or as late as middle age. The type and severity of symptoms can vary from person to person and may either improve or worsen with time.
If your parents or grandparents suffered with narcolepsy, the latest research indicates that you may be up to 10 times more likely to suffer from the condition yourself.

Up until the 1990s very little was known about this disorder and only after a great deal of research can scientists finally shed some light on this rare condition.

The newly discovered neurotransmitter orexin (also known as hypocretin)in the brain is thought to be involved in the control of wakefulness and sleep. It was first discovered that mice with very little to no levels of orexin were developing sleep attacks and at the same time a group in California found that dogs with narcolepsy have a faulty receptor for orexin. This led to the belief that orexin was the main cause of narcolepsy in humans and this was proven in 2000 when doctors found that the levels of orexin in the cerebrospinal fluid (the liquid which bathes the brain and spinal cord) was very low or even undetectable in most patients with narcolepsy.

Treatment of EDS (Excessive Daytime Sleepiness)

Until relatively recently EDS was only treated with amphetamine-ilke central nervous system (CNS) stimulants. The compound most commonly used in the UK is dexamphetamine sulphate (dexamfetamine sulphate, Dexedrine). Other possibilities are methylphenidate (Ritalin), the most commonly used drug in the USA, and mazindol (Teronac). Unlike, dexamphetamine, Both of these latter two medications are licensed for the treatment of narcolepsy.

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