DIAGNOSIS OF NARCOLEPSY USING AMBULATORY EEG - REPORT ON 20 CASES

Diagnosis of narcolepsy using ambulatory EEG, Ambulatory EEG (A-EEG) a llows longterm polygraphic recording over 24 hours or more and proves to be particularly useful in the diagnosis of narcolepsy-cataplexy (N/ C). We performed A-EEG using the Medilog 9000-8 channel system over a total of 36 24-hour periods in 20 consecutive N/C patients and recorde d an average of 3.5 daytime sleep episodes, of wich 2.2 were with SORE MP, and 21 evening SOREMP (58%). A MSLT was performed using A-EEG in 1 6 cases. Continuous A-EEG proved to be more informative than the MSLT, and may represent a valid alternative to the classic continuous polyg raphic recordings performed in the sleep lab, that are more cumbersome and costly. Although a full-night polysomnographic recording is still necessary whenever other sleep disorders are suspected in association with N/C, A-EEG is a first-line practical method for the confirmation of N/C, wich remains a clinical diagnosis.