Idiopathic hypersomnia: a study of 187 personally observed cases
Roth, B.
International Journal of Neurology 15(1-2): 108-118
1981
ISSN/ISBN: 0020-7446 PMID: 6242979 Document Number: 5401
The author describes an as yet undifferentiated clinical entity which he calls idiopathic hypersomnia. The affection is characterized by sleep attacks lasting 15 minutes to several hours, as well as by more or less permanent drowsiness. Falling asleep in the evening is very rapid, night sleep is mostly deep and prolonged. In some of the patients it is possible to observe the syndrome of "sleep drukenness", i.e. confusion, disorientation and obnubilation upon awakening which is very difficult and prolonged. The symptoms described occur at every awakening. The course of the malady remains stationary until high age. The affection manifests itself in two forms. The monosymptomatic form is characterized by sleep attacks and diurnal sleepiness only, in the polysymptomatic form the syndrome of sleep drunkenness is observed in addition to the above symptoms. The disorder occurs frequently in a heredofamilial form. EEG recordings are characterized by frequent occurrence of sleep activity. Signs of EEG abnormality were found in 25.6 % of cases. In most cases, the abnormality consisted in the occurrence of generalized episodes of slow waves which occurred spontaneously or after hyperventilation. Polygraphic recordings showed that the hyper s o mni a c states were accompanied by NREM sleep. If the sleep attacks lasts long enough, signs of REM sleep occur after 70 - 90 minutes of NREM sleep. According to the authors' experience idiopathic hypersomnia is a relatively frequent affection. The author observed, in the course of 27 years, altogether 187 such cases.
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