ABSTRACT
To our knowledge, there are no published English translations of the first clinical reports describing narcolepsy and cataplexy [in French, 1880, in two parts (1), and in German, 1877 (2)]. The first author of this chapter (CHS) previously had the Berlitz agency translate these two reports, and so this 2006 “state of the science” book on narcolepsy is a timely opportunity for presenting in English the original descriptions of narcolepsy and cataplexy. These historic documents richly describe recurrent, self-limited, sleep attacks and/or cataplectic attacks in two otherwise healthy people.
