ABSTRACT
The word “cataplexy” was coined by Henneberg in 1916 (1), but many authors described, the sudden loss of muscle tone, under other names. Westphal in 1877 (2) had observed the presence of involuntary movements during motor inhibition that occurred during an abrupt attack; and Gelineau in 1880 (3) had mentioned that emotions may influence sleep attacks and falls or “asbasia”. Lowenfeld (1902) is usually credited as the first individual to characterized cataplexy as part of the narcolepsy syndrome (4). Adie (1926) (5) changed Hennebergs term “cataplectic inhibition” to “cataplexy” from the Latin word “cataplessa” which means “to strike down with fear or the like.” Daniels in 1934 (6) defined it as “a state of helplessness into which a narcoleptic patient may be precipitated by emotional stress, he is not unconscious but a mass of toneless muscles; and he promptly recovers, non the worse from this experience.” Cataplexy, partial or complete, was thus very well described between the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. It was linked to narcolepsy. We know now that it may be associated with other clinical entities, but these entities involved the destruction of the hypocretin/ orexin neurons in the hypothalamus.
