Surely on some occasion you have heard someone say "I was in a cataplegic state", but you may not really know what that state implies. The cataplegic state consists of a muscle weakness in which the person maintains consciousness.
They usually occur after feeling an intense emotion, either positive or negative. In general, the cataplegic state occurs within the context of narcolepsy, being very infrequent that it is from outside this disease. In this Psychology-Online article, we give you information about the cataplegic state, its definition, characteristics and treatment. Read on if you are interested in knowing what can cause these episodes.
Index
- Definition of cataplegic state
- Causes of the cataplegic state
- Characteristics of the cataplegic state
- Treatment of the cataplegic state
Definition of cataplegic state.
The cataplegic state is a sudden loss of voluntary muscle tone. The muscle weakness It can range from a mere weakening of some part of the body to total paralysis, which can lead to falls or accidents. These episodes are usually short, about two minutes, and limit or prevent partial or total movement of the muscles of the body.
Causes of the cataplegic state.
As we said, in general the cataplegic state occurs in the context of narcolepsy, so this is its main cause. The narcolepsy It is a disorder in which there are sudden attacks of sleep and up to 70% of people who suffer from narcolepsy also suffer from cataplexy.
The main cause of both alterations is a decreased levels of the hormone orexin and hypocretin in cerebrospinal fluid. In addition, the cataplexy episode is related to an inhibition of the performance of the neurons spinal cord, causing the person to lose control over their muscles.
The reasons why orexin levels may decrease are different types of lesions, malformations, brain tumors, etc. In addition, other reasons why you can get cataplexy are other diseases such as multiple sclerosis, brain infections or vascular accidents. This can happen especially if the damage is in the hypothalamus, since it is in charge of creating said substance.
On the other hand, in some cases the origin may be genetic, so it can be considered an autoimmune disease.
Characteristics of the cataplegic state.
The cataplegic state is the decrease in muscle tone. As we said, this weakness can range from a jaw relaxation to a complete loss of muscle strength. This makes it potentially dangerous as it can cause severe falls or cause accidents while driving.
Depending on the person, the symptoms of cataplexy may be the following:
- The eyes can be closed and it is impossible to open them.
- The head can tilt forward, it can stay on the face one grimace or strange expression. A loud fit of laughter, a fright, or great physical exertion can trigger the cataplexy attack.
- It is important to differentiate the attack of cataplexy from that of narcolepsy. In the first, the person is conscious while in the second there is a sudden attack of sleep.
- During these episodes, difficulties when speaking or vision problems such as blurred vision or double vision.
Treatment of the cataplegic state.
As you can well guess, the treatment of cataplexy is pharmacological.
- Normally, health professionals are inclined to guide the sodium oxybate intake or by gammahydroxybutyrate.
- At other times, the drug to choose is a antidepressant, especially the tricyclic, although serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors or some other type of stimulating such as modafinil, methylphenidate, or amphetamines.
- As a complement, it is advisable to use the psychotherapy by way of detection of previous symptoms. In this way, a possible fall or accident can sometimes be prevented. In this article, we tell you the types of psychotherapy: techniques and methods.
- Work a sleep hygiene to promote a good rest, and small daytime naps would be prescribed in order to avoid this loss of muscle tone as much as possible.
However, today, all possible treatments have the mere function of alleviating the symptoms, but the disease has no cure. Undoubtedly, the quality of life of the person receiving treatment is improved until, in some cases, the symptoms are almost imperceptible.
To be diagnosed with cataplexy, a neurologist usually does a complete exam in which he / she performs a physical exam, a study of the history symptoms and a description of the symptoms, an immunogenetic study and an evaluation of the hypocretin level from the fluid cerebrospinal.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to Cataplegic state: definition, characteristics and treatment, we recommend that you enter our category of Neuropsychology.
Bibliography
- Arias-Carrión, O. (2009). Hypocretinal system and narcolepsy. Medical Journal of Chile, 137(9), 1209-1216.
- Medrano Martínez, P. (2019). Neuropsychological alterations in narcolepsy with cataplexy. Cases and controls study.
- Merino-Andreu, M., & Martinez-Bermejo, A. (2009, December). Narcolepsy with and without cataplexy: a rare, limiting, and underdiagnosed disease. In Annals of Pediatrics (Vol. 71, No. 6, pp. 524-534). Elsevier Doyma.
- Overeem, S., van Nuestra, S. J., van der Zande, W. L., Donjacour, C. E., van Mierlo, P., & Lammers, G. J. (2011). The clinical features of cataplexy: a questionnaire study in narcolepsy patients with and without hypocretin-1 deficiency. Sleep medicine, 12(1), 12-18.
