What are the symptoms of Kleine-Levin Syndrome?

Kleine-Levin syndrome is a rare disorder that primarily affects adolescent males, marked by uncontrollable sleeping.. The condition is characterized by recurring but reversible periods of excessive sleep (up to 20 hours per day). Along with sleeping issues, the characteristics of the condition are confusion, irritation and agitation when waking.

Symptoms

The episodes of Kleine-Levin syndrome are abrupt, and sometimes have flu-like symptoms. The common symptoms of Kleine-Levin syndrome are excessive food intake, irritability, childishness, disorientation, hallucinations, and an abnormally uninhibited sex drive.

Those affected with the disorder can be depressed as a consequence, but not a cause, of the disorder. Affected individuals are completely normal between episodes, and sometimes forget everything that happened during the episode. The episodes may not occur often and it may be weeks or more before symptoms reappear. Some of the sings will be related to malfunction of the hypothalamus and thalamus, parts of the brain that govern appetite and sleep.

The symptoms of the condition last a few days, sometimes weeks.

Treatment

As of now, there are no specific treatment or cure for the treatment of Kleine-Levin syndrome. This is the reason doctors recommend that one follow watchful waiting and seek relief through pharmacotherapy. In addition to that, stimulant pills are used for the treatment of sleepiness though a regular use of these may make one more irritable and hinder any improvement in cognitive abnormalities.

In some cases, medications have been shown to prevent the worsening of symptoms or the occurrence of episodes.

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