cataplexy
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English
Etymology
From German Kataplexie, from Ancient Greek κατάπληξις (katáplēxis), from κατά (katá, “down”) + πλῆξῐς (plêxis, “blow, act of striking”).
Pronunciation
Noun
cataplexy (countable and uncountable, plural cataplexies)
- (medicine) An abrupt loss of muscle tone, sometimes associated with narcolepsy.
- 2013 May 1, James M. Parish MD, FCCP, “Genetic and Immunologic Aspects of Sleep and Sleep Disorders”, in Chest, volume 143, number 5, , pages 1489–1499:
- Narcolepsy has been associated with the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) system, a 4-megabase region of chromosome 6, which is divided into three subregions: class I, class II, and class III. Class II HLA antigens have been strongly associated with autoimmune diseases. The class II antigen, DQB1*0602, has been associated with narcolepsy. Most (90%-100%) patients with narcolepsy/cataplexy across all ethnic groups have this allele. In addition, 35% to 56% of patients who have narcolepsy without cataplexy also have this allele. However, 20% of the normal population also has the allele, reducing its usefulness in diagnostic testing.
Derived terms
Translations
abrupt loss of muscle tone
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Further reading
- “cataplexy”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.