• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.89-95
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• 1997

The authors studied 5 cases of idiopathic CNS hypersomnia who visited Division of Sleep Studies, Seoul National University Hospital in 1995. Detailed medical history was taken and nocturnal polysomnography(NPSG), multiple sleep latency test(MSLT) and human leukocyte antigen(HLA) typing were performed. Neither cataplexy nor hypnagogic hallucination was reported in all cases and in NPSGs, there were tendencies of increased sleep period time and decreased slow wave sleep time. In MSLT, all the subjects showed average sleep latencies less than 8 minutes without sleep-onset rapid eye movement period(SOREMP). In HLA typing, some correlation between idiopathic CNS hypersomnia and HLA DR4 was observed. In contrast to previous reports, overall treatment response with methylphenidate was remarkable. Therefore, the authors suggest that patients suspected of idiopathic CNS hypersomnia be actively evaluated and treated with rather optimistic perspective.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.65-76
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• 1996

Natural sleep pattern and its physiology in childhood are much different from those in adulthood. Several aspects of clinical evaluation for sleepiness in childhood are more difficult than in adulthood. These difficulties are due to several factors. First, excessive sleepiness in childhood do not always develop functional impairments. Second, objective test such as MSLT may not be reliable since it is hard to be certain that the child understand instructions. Third, sleepiness in children is often obscured by irritability. paradoxical hyperactivity, or behavioral disturbances. Anseguently, careful clinical evaluation is needed for the sleepy children. Usual causes of sleepiness in children are the disorders that induce insufficient sleep such as sleep apnea syndrome, schedule disorder, underlying medical and psychiatric disorder, and so forth. After excluding such factors, we can diagnose the hypersomnic disorders such as narcolepsy, Kleine-Levin syndrome, and idiopathic central nervous system hypersomnia. Among the variety of those causes of sleepiness, I reviewed the clinical difference of narcolepsy and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in childhood compared with in adulthood. Recognition of the childhood narcolepsy is difficult because even severely sleepy children often do not develop pathognomic cataplexy and associated REM phenomena until much later. Since childhood narcolepsy give srise to many psychological, academical problem. Practicers should be concerned about these aspects. Childhood obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is different from adult obstructive sleep apnea syndrome too. Several aspects such as pathophysiology. clinical feature, diagnostic criteria, complication, management, and prognosis differ from those in the adult syndrome. An important feature of childhood obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is the variety of severe complications such as behavioral disorders, cognitive impairment, cardiovascular symptoms, developmental delay, and ever death. Fortunately, surgical interventions like adenotosillectomy or UPPP are more effective for Childhood OSA than adult form. CPAP is a "safe, effective, and well-tolerated" treatment modality too. So if early detection and proper management of childhood OSA were done, the severe complication would be prevented or ever cured.