The case of Anya, a Russian baby of one and a half years who hardly does anything but sleep, is a real mystery for her parents but also for the doctors who follow her. At the age of 6 months, the little girl suddenly fell into a deep sleep and didn’t wake up until a week later. Since then, his days have only alternated very long phases of sleep and brief moments of awakening. Despite a multitude of examinations carried out, the doctors still cannot find the origin of the illness from which the girl is suffering. Her parents therefore decided to return her illness to the public, in the hope of obtaining more information on their daughter’s situation.
Sleeping Beauty Syndrome
In an article published on The Siberian Times, Alexandra, Anya’s mother confides “the doctors told me that it was normal sleep and not a coma. During these long phases of falling asleep, her body temperature drops. from 37 ° to 35 °. His pulse and breathing slow dramatically. But no one can explain why this is happening. ” Doctors considered many possibilities for disease, but none came to fruition. Among those studied: meningitis, encephalitis, genetic diseases and evenepilepsy. But Anya’s brain and nervous system are working very well. It is simply impossible to wake the little girl when she is asleep. The Siberian Times specifies that so far, doctors have diagnosed “hypersomnia of undetermined origin”. Kleine-Levin Syndrome could correspond to the symptoms of Anya. It is a neurological pathology characterized by hypersomnia. Indeed, patients with this disorder feel an excessive need to sleep which can go up to 20 hours a day. It usually affects more men than women and is extremely rare in children of Anya’s age.
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