2010/04/19 by Rodrigo Rocamora, António Gil‐Nagel, Oriol Franch +1 · 3 citations
Neuroscience · Psychology · #Circadian rhythm and melatonin #Sleep and Wakefulness Research #Sleep and related disorders
paper · doi:10.1177/0883073810366599
openalex publication_date 2010/04/19 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/08
Kleine-Levin syndrome and menstrual-related hypersomnia are rare idiopathic sleep disorders occurring primarily in adolescence. They are characterized by intermittent periods of excessive sleepiness, cognitive disturbances, and behavioral abnormalities. In both, the etiology remains unknown but autoinmune, hormonal, infectious, and inflammatory mechanisms have been proposed. The authors describe, for the first time, the association of Kleine-Levin syndrome and menstrual-related hypersomnia in 2 adolescent siblings who shared the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) loci DQB1*0501. The same haplotype has been associated with sleepwalking and with rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder. This gender differences in the manifestation of a probably genetic influenced sleep disorder suggests that hormonal mechanisms could be implicated in the phenotypical expression of this sleep disorder. The male sibling with Kleine-Levin syndrome was easily controlled with carbamazepine in low doses, but his sister could be only efficaciously treated with oral contraceptives.