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>> Welcome back.
We are bringing you some of the most compelling
"Mysteries of the Mind" tonight.
And this one strikes during adolescence
and makes otherwise normal teenagers collapse.
Not just into a deep sleep, but into a mysterious netherworld,
a world filled with hallucination, paralysis,
and strange sensations that strike without warning,
linger without a cure, and can last a lifetime.
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>> An insatiable need for sleep.
Sudden episodes of paralysis, vivid hallucinations,
this is the life of a narcoleptic.
>> I don't really even remember a whole lot
of my sophomore year just because I slept
so much through my classes.
>> Anthony Raymond was your normal high school kid
who loved acting and the theater then his life mysteriously
started to change.
>> I just started feeling sleepy throughout the day.
I didn't think much of it.
I just thought it was some weird puberty thing.
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>> Occasional daily naps turned into a constant need for sleep
that he could never satisfy.
>> I was sleeping every chance I could get.
In addition, I started experiencing these other weird
symptoms like sleep paralysis at night.
>> And what is it exactly?
>> I'll be lying down, and all
of a sudden I can't move any part of my body.
And usually what will accompany this are these hallucinations,
which not only do I see things and hear things,
but I also feel things.
I can remember one time being completely paralyzed
and feeling a fox kind of crawl under my back.
>> Can you scream when you are paralyzed like that?
>> No. I can't scream.
>> You can't move your body at all?
>> But eventually I break out of it
and I will scream or something.
[ Inaudible Remark ]
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>> And then there's the most difficult
and potentially dangerous symptom
of narcolepsy, cataplexy.
At any given moment Anthony would collapse.
He would be paralyzed for minutes at a time.
>> Probably the scariest thing is falling to the ground
and not being totally sure that you are going to fall
in a position where you can breathe.
I could fall in a space where my face might be smothered
by a cushion or something.
>> In extreme cases, like this Scottish girl,
it can happen more than 45 times a day, usually brought
on by emotional excitement like laughing, anger or surprise.
Experts estimate that at least half
of narcoleptics have cataplexy.
For Anthony, these sometimes daily episodes make driving,
working, and dating nearly impossible.
>> It starts in the neck and the tongue,
unable to move those parts.
And then it goes to the legs and then eventually,
you can't move anything.
>> And there's nothing you can do to pull yourself out of it?
>> Nothing I can do except wait.
I can try really hard to move and every now and then,
I'll gain just enough strength that I might be able
to jerk my arm up or something.
>> And are you consciously thinking I'm going to ride this
out for another minute?
>> Yeah. It's just kinda like that bad dream
where you can't move and you can't scream.
>> Anthony's was really a classical case
when he came to me.
This is a perfect slide here.
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>> Dr. Emmanuel Mignot is Anthony's doctor
and the director of Center for Narcolepsy
at Stanford University.
He says that despite all the sleep Anthony gets,
he's never well rested.
>> They are exhausted all the time.
They take little naps, they feel better.
But then after one hour or two hours, it just starts again.
And at night the same thing, just exhausted and they arrive
in their bed, boom, they sleep and then
after two hours they wake up unable to fall asleep.
Basically the cause of narcolepsy is very simple.
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>> Narcoleptics can't produce a brain chemical
called Hypocretin.
Normally it helps you stay awake.
Without it narcoleptics constantly fall it REM
or dream sleep, but they do not fall
into the deep restorative stages of sleep so they wake
up too soon, and wake up tired.
The mystery, what causes the death
of these precious brain cells?
And why does it often happen during adolescence?
The other mystery, how to restore
or replace those cells and cure narcolepsy?
Fortunately, doctors have developed drugs
to treat the symptoms.
>> It's kind of gross, but it does the trick.
>> Every day and every night, Anthony takes a carefully-
prescribed mix of drugs.
>> I have got about 20 minutes and I'll be asleep.
>> One drug gets Anthony's brain and body
into a deep restorative sleep, so he's well rested.
It also helps reduce cataplexy, but it doesn't work for long.
Anthony needs a second dose in the middle of the night.
>> It is 2:11 a.m. and I am awake again.
>> Anthony also needs a stimulant during the day
and antidepressants to ease his constant sleepiness
and cataplexy.
>> OK, it's now 7:30 in the morning and I just--
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>> But even with all those drugs,
Anthony can only stay awake for about six hours
at a time during the day
so he must follow a strict daily nap schedule.
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>> The first is in mid-morning,
usually in his first or second class.
Anthony closes his eyes for 15 to 20 minutes.
>> If he's sleeping, he's going to miss something
but I think he more than compensates for that.
>> He also has to take a nap the minute he gets home from school.
>> If I postpone a nap long enough,
I just can't really function.
>> But no matter what medication he takes,
or how many naps he has, Anthony still has occasional bouts
of cataplexy.
[ Inaudible Remark ]
[ Background Talking ]
>> See his bobbing head here?
This one happened while he was watching a comedy.
But despite all these challenges,
Anthony still has big plans for the future.
He starts college in September and hopes to become a teacher.
With no cure on the horizon, Anthony is ready
for a life he knows will be a nonstop,
24-hour game of beat the clock.
>> I can live the rest of my life like this.
Narcolepsy is a problem, but it's not the worst thing
in the world for me that could happen.
And I'm still living.
>> And you know you can handle it.
>> Yeah.
>> And Anthony is doing a whole lot more than just handling it.
He happens to be thriving.
He is far from alone though when it comes
to struggling with narcolepsy.
The disorder effects about 135,000 Americans.
Now in most cases, symptoms first appear
between the ages of 10 and 25.
We're gonna take a short break.
We'll be right back.