Narcolepsy in a young Chinese child.

Narcolepsy is characterized by narcoleptic sleep attacks, cataplexy, sleep paralysis and hypnagogic hallucinations. It is very rare in children. A 7-year old Chinese boy presenting with typical narcoleptic symptoms is reported. Diagnosis of narcolepsy usually relies on the clinical picture, the presence of sleep-onset REM periods on nocturnal polysomnograph and the Multiple Sleep Latency Test. The strong association with HLA-DR2 may help in diagnosis, especially in children.