Kleine-Levin Syndrome (KLS) is a rare neurological disorder that causes recurring bouts of excessive sleep along with a reduced understanding of the surrounding and altered behavior during wakefulness. Individuals with KLS may sleep for more than 20 hours a day. That is why it is referred to as “sleeping beauty” syndrome. This condition is more prominent among teenagers, but it can also occur in adults and young children. Though the exact prevalence rate is still unknown, it is estimated to be about 1 million people worldwide. About 70 percent of those affected are male.
KLS symptoms do occur as episodes, which usually last for days to a few weeks or months. During this time, the affected people stop living a normal life. Persons with KLS may suffer from severe fatigue, so they may be bedridden during the episode. These individuals are not able to attend to work, school, or participate in other routine activities. Basically, they cannot take care of themselves. The episode onset can be associated with flu-like symptoms and are often abrupt.
In between the episodes, persons with KLS appear to show no evidence of physical or behavioral dysfunction; they appear to be in perfect health. They also may not retain any memory about the events that happened during the episode. KLS episodes can be on and off over an extended period, and sometimes they may last for ten years or more. Kleine-Levin Syndrome can occur with other neurological disorders, so it is sometimes difficult to diagnose. Some of its symptoms can also mimic other psychiatric disorders. It is therefore not uncommon for patients to be misdiagnosed. Below are the 6 Symptoms of Kleine-Levin Syndrome
1. Flu-Like Symptoms
This is the primary clinical symptom of Kleine-Levin Syndrome. Flu-like symptoms are very prominent when a person experiences KLS for the first time. In most cases, the symptoms occur after a fever or airway infection. Some studies have shown that viruses such as Epstein-Barr virus, Influenza A virus subtypes, herpes zoster virus, adenovirus, and varicella-zoster virus may be observed immediately before the development of the disorder. Several days after the episode starts, a patient may feel extremely tired.
Several studies have reported that the affected persons sleep for 12 to 24 hour per day during the episodes. At the onset of the episode, the symptoms are usually severe and make a patient feeling drawn to bed. The affected individuals may only wake up to urinate, defecate, or eat then go back to sleep. Some sleep studies about Kleine-Levin Syndrome revealed that the slow wave sleep is often reduced at the start of the episode while the REM sleep is normal at this period but tend to reduce towards the end of the episode.
With the above in mind, the condition may put patients at risk of injuring themselves, for example, if the episode occurs while driving on the road. This is why it is important to learn how to identify an impending episode, so as to remove oneself from a potentially dangerous activity or situation.
[nextpage title=“Next” ]2. Excessive Food Intake
Excessive food intake or compulsive eating is a common symptom of this sleeping disorder. Oftentimes, patients will have an unusual uncontrollable urge to eat food and take fluids. It is not unusual for these persons to have interest in foods they may not ordinarily like. This situation may lead them to binge on unhealthy foods, most of them being junk and snacks.
Excessive food intake is normally witnessed during the wake-up times. Ironically, the patients generally don’t complain of excessive hunger. If there is no one to control their eating habits during the episodes, these individuals are at risk of experiencing a weight gain or developing other health conditions associated with unhealthy eating.
[nextpage title=“Next” ]3. Irritability
Individuals with KLS are known to experience mood changes during the episodes. These individuals can get irritated even with situations they are perceived as normal. Anxiety and hypomania are also reported as some of the common traits. Irritability is more prominent when a patent has just woken up. Patients can also get irritated when they are denied food or sex.
The above may culminate in severe aggressive behavior. On the extreme end, some patients may experience some suicidal thoughts. In most cases, irritability is usually resolved at the end of the episodes. In rare circumstances, it may persist longer, usually a couple of days after the end of the episode.
[nextpage title=“Next” ]4. Childishness
About two-thirds of the patients do experience abnormal speech. This makes them exhibit some behaviors associated with childishness. This includes using monosyllabic or short sentences or having slurred or muted speech. What they speak is usually incoherent or muddled. A majority of these individuals are able to regain their speech at the end of the episode.
Besides being slow to speak, some patient may also be slow to comprehend. This can be evident by the echoing of questions and the verbal perseveration, for instance, taking time to answer each question. In some instances, they may not be able to give a direct response to what ought to be known by an adult.
[nextpage title=“Next” ]5. Disorientation
During the episode, KLS patients do experience disorientation or multiple cognitive disturbances. This confusion is caused by problems with memory and lack of concentration. A person may also have difficulties speaking. Even though most patients live a normal life between the episodes, some may experience a slight decline in intellectual or memory capability.
A common disorientation observed among all persons affected by KLS is altered perception. This could affect all senses, thus, making them see all things as unreal or dreamlike. This can be evident from the way they respond to questions. Typically, they give abnormal responses to situations. Generally, Kleine-Levin Syndrome patients are more likely to experience temporal disorientation two times more than spatial disorientation.
[nextpage title=“Next” ]6. Hallucinations
KLS patients are usually described as seeming “spaced out” or living in their own world. Some affected people may experience auditory or visual delusions and hallucinations. They often hear imaginary voices.. It is also common for these individuals to experience a feeling of a continuous sense of disconnection or being completely detached from their surroundings.
The altered perception can be expressed as feeling detached, strange, or different. Objects can be perceived as a long way off while voices may be perceived as distant with a nightmarish sense of the surrounding. Aside from the auditory and visual hallucinations, patients may experience paranoia or paranoiac delusions.
