Kleine-Levin Syndrome Definition, Reason, Symptoms, Treatment & Prevention
Definition
Kleine-Levin syndrome, also known as sleeping beauty syndrome or sleeping beauty syndrome. This is the term used to describe a rare neurological condition characterized by recurrent episodes of oversleeping accompanied by cognitive and behavioral disturbances while awake.
People who experience this condition generally sleep about 12 to 24 hours per day, and only wake up to eat or use the restroom. While awake, the person may experience signs and symptoms of disorientation, confusion, hallucinations, irritability, excessive sleepiness, and apathy. They generally have difficulty caring for themselves and attending school, college, or work.
Kleine-Levin Syndrome Symptoms
Sleeping beauty syndrome generally begins in adolescence, at which time signs and symptoms may occur episodically and occur between 2 and 12 times per year. When an episode of complaints starts, it can last from a few days to several months. When an episode ends, the person generally cannot remember previous experiences. Signs and symptoms may return suddenly.
In between episodes, patients with sleeping beauty syndrome may show no signs or symptoms at all as well as good physical activity and behavior. Generally, they also experience a normal lifestyle and regular sleep patterns.
As you get older, the episodes become less frequent and then start to disappear. However, in some cases, the condition has been observed to persist in patients aged 40 or 50 years.
Signs and symptoms that can arise include:
- Hypersomnia, or oversleeping. This is the main symptom of sleeping beauty syndrome and is an important condition for diagnosis. Sufferers generally need 12 to 24 hours to sleep and are difficult to wake up while asleep.
- Cognitive impairment. Sufferers experience confusion, decreased understanding, poor concentration, impaired memory, and difficulty communicating. Speech disturbances are also frequently observed, such as speaking slurred and resembling children’s speech.
- Changed perceptions. Most sufferers report feeling disconnected from the real world at the time of the episode, and feeling as if the world around them is wrong, distorted, or like they are dreaming. In addition, some sufferers can also experience auditory and visual hallucinations.
- Hyperphagia, or overeating. Most sufferers have eating disorders at the time of the episode. They generally crave types of food that are not normally consumed, such as sweet foods or unhealthy foods.
- Hypersexuality. Some sufferers, often men, show an increased sex drive. Such hypersexual behavior can include excessive masturbation, promiscuity, inappropriate sexual behavior, or other behaviors.
Other signs and symptoms that may occur include one-sided headache, hypersensitivity to light and sound, anxiety, and irritability. Most people with sleeping beauty syndrome also show symptoms such as abnormal body temperature, changes in heart rate and blood pressure, and coughs and runny nose.
Kleine-Levin Syndrome Reason
Currently, the cause of sleeping beauty syndrome is not known with certainty. However, the abnormalities that arise as a result of this condition indicate the possibility of damage to the hypothalamus and thalamus in the brain. Both of these areas are parts of the brain that regulate sleep patterns, appetite, and sexual desire.
Several other factors such as viruses or autoimmune factors are also thought to play a role because many sufferers with sleeping beauty syndrome exhibit respiratory symptoms, such as coughing and runny nose at the onset of the disease.
Diagnosis
The diagnosis of sleeping beauty syndrome can be made based on a detailed medical interview and direct physical examination.
Kleine-Levin Syndrome Treatment
There is no definitive treatment for sleeping beauty syndrome, but doctors can prescribe certain medications to help relieve the complaint. Certain types of stimulant medication can help overcome the effects of oversleeping, but cannot completely overcome the cognitive impairment that accompanies this condition.
Prevention
Because the cause of sleeping beauty syndrome is not known with certainty, there is no prevention method that has been proven to be completely effective in preventing this condition from occurring.