OBJECTIVE: While there are a number of observations/quantifications indicating a greater proportion of REM sleep without atonia (RWA) in narcolepsy, the intranight distribution of this parameter has not been evaluated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-four patients (15 men and 19 women; mean age 44.9 +- 18.9) with narcolepsy-cataplexy were included in this retrospective study.
The clinical diagnosis was confirmed by MSLT, video-polysomnography and HLA typing. Polysomnographic recordings were scored with particular regard to REM sleep without atonia (RWA) across all the nocturnal REM periods.
RWA scoring was done according to a standard method