The Awakening of the Narcolepsy Landscape

TARGET AUDIENCE:
This activity has been designed to address the educational needs of sleep medicine specialists. It may also benefit primary care physicians and other clinicians who are interested or involved in the care of patients with narcolepsy.
PROGRAM OVERVIEW:
Statement of Need
Patients with narcolepsy average 10 years between symptom onset and diagnosis. All the while, sufferers try, in vain, to navigate the hallmark symptom of excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS)—with or without cataplexy—that can disrupt their careers, relationships, social lives, and overall functionality. Even with treatment, few patients with narcolepsy achieve sufficient control of their symptoms, or symptoms are improved at the cost of adverse events. Fortunately, the narcolepsy treatment landscape has recently expanded to include novel and unscheduled agents that offer advantages of efficacy, safety, and/or convenience over many conventional agents.