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Life Effects of Narcolepsy: Relationships to Geographic Origin (North American, Asian or European) and to Other Patient and Illness Variables

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2015

Roger Broughton ,
Quais Ghanem ,
Yasuo Hishikawa ,
Yoshiro Sugita ,
Sonia Nevsimalova  and
Bedrich Roth
Roger Broughton*
Affiliation:
Division of Neurology, University of Ottawa (Canada), Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Osaka (Japan), and the Neurology Clinic, Charles University, Prague (Czechoslovakia)
Quais Ghanem
Affiliation:
Division of Neurology, University of Ottawa (Canada), Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Osaka (Japan), and the Neurology Clinic, Charles University, Prague (Czechoslovakia)
Yasuo Hishikawa
Affiliation:
Division of Neurology, University of Ottawa (Canada), Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Osaka (Japan), and the Neurology Clinic, Charles University, Prague (Czechoslovakia)
Yoshiro Sugita
Affiliation:
Division of Neurology, University of Ottawa (Canada), Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Osaka (Japan), and the Neurology Clinic, Charles University, Prague (Czechoslovakia)
Sonia Nevsimalova
Affiliation:
Division of Neurology, University of Ottawa (Canada), Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Osaka (Japan), and the Neurology Clinic, Charles University, Prague (Czechoslovakia)
Bedrich Roth
Affiliation:
Division of Neurology, University of Ottawa (Canada), Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Osaka (Japan), and the Neurology Clinic, Charles University, Prague (Czechoslovakia)
*
Division of Neurology, Ottawa General Hospital, 501 Smyth Rd., Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1H 8L6.
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A recent questionnaire survey of the life-effects of narcolepsy in 180 patients, 60 each from North American, Asian and European populations, compared to similarly distributed age and sex matched controls, documented multiple and marked effects on work, education, driving, accidents, recreation, personality, memory and other parameters. The data have now been further analysed according to the patients’ geographic (culturo-genetic) origin and to a number of other patient and illness variables. The three different geographic populations showed few significant differences for the some 160 life-effects items in the questionnaire. This strongly indicates that these are an integral part of the disease or of the human reaction to it. Most of the few significant population differences appeared cultural in origin (e.g., concerning driving records, personality changes), although a few may possibly reflect genetic differences (e.g., visual problems). Analysis of the pooled data according to respondees’ age, sex, age at illness onset, duration of illness and treatment led again to relatively few significant findings. It is concluded that, in general, once the disease has been diagnosed, all the major life effects are present and remain so. The results strongly support the contention that most life-effects are not related to the diagnostic ‘tetrad’ symptoms themselves but rather to excessive daytime sleepiness, the symptom most resistant to anti-narcoleptic treatment.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences , Volume 10 , Issue 2 , May 1983 , pp. 100 - 104
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation 1983

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