Status Cataplecticus as Initial Presentation of Late Onset Narcolepsy

Abstract

Narcolepsy, one of the important causes of hypersomnia, is an under diagnosed sleep disorder. It has a bimodal age of onset around 15 and 35 years. It is characterized by the tetrad of excessive daytime sleepiness, cataplexy, hypnagogic/ hypnopompic hallucinations, and sleep paralysis. Cataplexy is by far the most predictive feature of narcolepsy. Status cataplecticus is the occurrence of cataplexy repeatedly for hours or days, a rare presentation of narcolepsy. This report describes an elderly gentleman with late onset narcolepsy in the sixth decade of life presenting with initial and chief symptom of status cataplecticus.