Quality of day time sleep in the multiple sleep latency tests in patients with narcolepsy, obstructive sleep apnea and psychogenic hypersomnia]

The multiple sleep latency test (MSLT) has proved to be a useful diagnostical tool for patients complaining of excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS). The intention of the present study was to investigate the structure of MSLT naps and in particular sleep spindle and k-complex density in three different groups of EDS patients. MSLT was performed at 8 a.m., 10 a.m. 12 a.m., 2. p.m. and 4 p.m.. Each recording lasted 20 minutes and was not stopped even if sleep occurred before 20 min. Sleep was scored visually. Spindle and k-complex density was determined per minute of S2 sleep. Statistical analysis used ANOVA. Each of the three groups consisted of 15 patients. Diagnosis of narcolepsy, sleep apnea, of EDS due to a psychiatric disorder has been confirmed subsequently. There were 5 female and 10 male narcoleptics (mean age: 43.9 +/- 10.9 years), 2 female and 13 male obstructive sleep apnea patients (mean age: 53.9 +/- 10.9 years) and 7 female and 8 male patients complaining of EDS, in whom a psychiatric disorder was diagnosed (mean age: 38.8 +/- 13.8 years). Narcoleptics sent more than half of the recording time of 100 min asleep (52.9%). Apnea patients slept 41.3% and psychogenic EDS patients 22.7%. The proportion of sleep stages 1 and 2 in narcoleptics (S2/S1 = 1:1) was clearly different from the other two (apnea patients: S2/S1 = 4:1; psychogenic EDS patients: S2/S1 = 3:1). 18.5% of the naps contained stage REM and during the afternoon naps 0.9% of S3 in the narcoleptics. Neither REM nor S3 was observed in the others.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)