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cataplexy
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Cataplexy is loss of muscular tone caused by strong emotion.
Patients may complain that a surprise or hearing a joke results in loss of strength.
There is a spectrum of severity:
- mild:
- jaw drop
- neck sagging
- buckling knees
- severe:
- collapse - may last several minutes
Cataplexy is a characteristic, but not essential, feature of narcolepsy:
- if may be the presenting symptom in 4% of narcoleptics
- 60-90% of patients with narcolepsy have cataplexy
Last reviewed 04/2020
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