Symptomatic Narcolepsy and Generalized Seizures Following Surgery for Rathke’s Cleft Cyst

Abstract

Symptomatic narcolepsy is a rare disorder caused by other underlying neurological disorders. One of the most frequent causes for symptomatic narcolepsy is brain tumors, usually in the region of the third ventricle and the diencephalon. Depending on clinical profile, the mass effect or surgical removal of space occupying lesions may play a definitive causative role in the occurrence of narcolepsy symptoms. We report a woman with symptomatic narcolepsy that developed 2 years after surgical removal of Rathke’s cleft cyst, which has never before been reported as a causative factor for symptomatic narcolepsy. In addition, myoclonic and/or generalized tonic-clonic seizures were associated with a left thalamic lesion generated by a complication of surgery.

Keywords

• Symptomatic narcolepsy
• Hypothalamus
• Generalized seizures
• Rathke’s cleft cyst