Idiopathic hypersomnia

Identification of idiopathic hypersomnia dates back 20 years only. It typically consists of prolonged nocturnal sleep, great difficulty waking up in the morning or at the end of a nap, and constant or recurrent excessive daytime sleepiness. Complete and incomplete forms are encountered. Twenty-three subjects fulfilling ICSD criteria are reported with clinical, polysomnographic and immunogenetic data. Considering differential diagnosis is an important step in the diagnosis of idiopathic hypersomnia. Idiopathic hypersomnia is much less frequent than narcolepsy. A strong genetic component is suggested by the high proportion of familial cases. No association with HLA has been evidenced to date.