The story of Connor Prince, a twelve-year-old British boy, who has suffered from the so-called Sleeping Beauty Syndrome since the age of nine, has made him live long periods in a state of lethargy. His first whole Christmas awake in five years. But what is this strange disease?
Kleine-Levin syndrome (that is its clinical name) is a rare neurological disorder that mainly affects adolescent males. The cause of the disease is unknown, but it manifests itself as hypersomnia attacks that can last months or weeks.
Of course, patients do not sleep through that entire period. They awaken briefly every eighteen or twenty-one hours of sleep, probably urged by the organism’s need to drink and feed, and then to continue their lethargy.
Typically, this type of crisis occurs a couple of times a year, although in some specific cases they can be chained one after another. It is also frequent that after one of these episodes of hypersomnia, the patient can spend months and even some years without being repeated again.
Regarding the causes, as we have said are still unknown, although some researchers point to a possible dysfunction in the hypothalamus or an abnormal development of brain functions. There is also no known effective cure for this strange syndrome, although some patients react positively to treatments with different types of stimulants. Although in most cases the crises are dilating with the passage of the years until disappearing completely.
