-
[ Background Music ]
-
>> 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.
-
[ Music ]
-
[ Background Music ]
-
>> 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.
-
[ Background Noise ]
-
>> 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 ]
-
[ Background Talking ]
-
>> 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.
-
[ Background Talking ]
-
>> 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.
-
[ Background Talking ]
-
[ Background Music ]
-
>> 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--
-
[ Background Talking ]
-
>> 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.
-
[ Background Music ]
-
>> 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.