Examining the Latest Evidence on EDS and Cataplexy in Narcolepsy: What are the Implications for Your Practice?

This activity is part of a series

Faculty

Michael J. Thorpy, MD
Professor of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Director, Sleep-Wake Disorders Center, Department of Neurology
Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY
President, New York State Society of Sleep Medicine
Past President, Sleep Section of the Academy of Neurology
Michael J. Thorpy, MD

Dr. Thorpy is a Professor of Neurology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Director of the Sleep-Wake Disorders Center in the Department of Neurology at Montefiore Medical Center, both in New York. In addition to treating patients with sleep disorders, he conducts research in narcolepsy, insomnia, and sleep apnea. He is President of the New York State Society of Sleep Medicine, Past President of the Sleep Section of the Academy of Neurology, and Past Secretary of the National Sleep Foundation. In 1993 Dr. Thorpy received the Nathaniel Kleitman Award from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, one of the field’s highest honors, and in 2012 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Sleep Foundation.

Born in New Zealand, Dr. Thorpy earned his medical degree from the University of Otago Medical School. After receiving postgraduate training in Dunedin, New Zealand; Bombay, India; and London, England, he completed his residency in neurology at the State University of New York in Syracuse and a neuroendocrinology fellowship at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center. Dr. Thorpy is board certified in sleep medicine.

He has published extensively on narcolepsy, insomnia, and sleep disorders. He chaired the first International Classification of Sleep Disorders and has published more than 250 peer-reviewed articles and chapters, including publications in journals such as The New England Journal of Medicine. His numerous books include The Encyclopedia of Sleep and Sleep Disorders, Parasomnias (2010), Sleepiness (2011), Neuroimaging of Sleep and Sleep Disorders (2012), Genetics of Sleep and Sleep Disorders (2013), Narcolepsy: a Clinical Guide (2016), and SleepMultiMedia, The Computerized Textbook of Sleep Medicine (v12).0 (2023).

Dr. Thorpy has given more than 100 television, radio, and print interviews on sleep disorders.

Yves Dauvilliers, MD, PhD
Professor of Neurology and Physiology, University of Montpellier
Director, Sleep-Wake Disorders Centre, Department of Neurology, Gui de Chauliac Hospital, Montpellier, France
Yves Dauvilliers, MD, PhD

Yves Dauvilliers, MD, PhD, has held the position of Professor of Neurology and Physiology, and Head of the clinical and research activity of the sleep laboratory at the University of Montpellier, France since 2005.  He is also a member of the research group INSERM U1061, and coordinator of the French National Reference Network for Orphan Diseases (Narcolepsy, Hypersomnia, Kleine-Levin Syndrome). He is author or coauthor of more than 370 papers published in international and national peer-reviewed journals, several book chapters. He has also served as editor of three French books related to sleep medicine.

Statement of Need

Treatment planning in patients with narcolepsy-associated excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) and cataplexy is many-faceted, as it is important to not just reduce EDS and control cataplexy, nightmares and hallucinations, sleep paralysis, and disturbed nocturnal sleep (DNS) but to also improve the patient’s psychosocial dysfunction and quality of life (QoL), their safety and that of the public, and to optimize the risks and benefits of pharmacotherapies. It is imperative that clinicians identify individual goals for patients with narcolepsy and utilize the latest clinical data to develop personalized treatment plans.

This CME Outfitters podcast will focus on considering individual patient characteristics along with updated clinical parameters and newly approved narcolepsy medications so that clinicians can identify and implement effective treatment to achieve long-term benefits by improving clinical outcomes and therefore patient QoL.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this CME/CE activity, participants should be able to utilize the latest clinical evidence to guide treatment planning for adults with EDS and cataplexy associated with narcolepsy.

Financial Support

Supported by an educational grant from Harmony Biosciences, LLC.

Target Audience

Psychiatrists, primary care physicians, PAs, nurse practitioners, nurses, and pharmacists

Credit Information

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Physicians (ACCME) 1.0

CME Outfitters, LLC, designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Nurses (ANCC) 1.0

This activity is designated for 1.0 contact hour.

Note to Nurse Practitioners

Nurse Practitioners can apply for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit through the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP). AANP will accept AMA PRA Category 1 Credit  from organizations accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education. Nurse practitioners can also apply for credit through their state boards.

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PAs (AAPA) 1.0

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ABIM MOC 1.0

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Royal College MOC

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MIPS Improvement Activity

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Disclosure Declaration

It is the policy of CME Outfitters, LLC, to ensure independence, balance, objectivity, and scientific rigor and integrity in all of their CE activities. Faculty must disclose to the participants any relationships with commercial companies whose products or devices may be mentioned in faculty presentations, or with the commercial supporter of this CE activity. CME Outfitters, LLC, has evaluated, identified, and attempted to resolve any potential conflicts of interest through a rigorous content validation procedure, use of evidence-based data/research, and a multidisciplinary peer review process. The following information is for participant information only. It is not assumed that these relationships will have a negative impact on the presentations.


Dr. Thorpy reports that he is a consultant and on the advisory board for Axsome Therapeutics, Inc.; Balance Therapeutics; Eisai Inc.; Flamel Technologies/Avadel; Harmony Biosciences, LLC; Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; NLS Pharmaceutics; Suven Life Sciences Limited; Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited; and XWPharma.


Dr. Dauvilliers reports that he is a consultant for Avadel; Bioprojet; Idorsia Pharmaceuticals Ltd; Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited; Theranexus; and UCB S.A., Belgium.


  • S. Michelle Franks, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC (peer reviewer) has no disclosures to report.
  • Kashemi D. Rorie, PhD (planning committee) has no disclosures to report.
  • Evan Luberger (planning committee) has no disclosures to report.
  • Susan H Yarbrough, CHCP (planning committee) has no disclosures to report.
  • Jan Perez (planning committee) has no disclosures to report.
  • Sharon Tordoff (planning committee) has no disclosures to report.
  • Disclosures were obtained from the CME Outfitters, LLC staff: No disclosures to report.

Faculty of this CE activity may include discussions of products or devices that are not currently labeled for use by the FDA. The faculty have been informed of their responsibility to disclose to the audience if they will be discussing off-label or investigational uses (any uses not approved by the FDA) of products or devices.

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Examining the Latest Evidence on EDS and Cataplexy in Narcolepsy: What are the Implications for Your Practice?
Event Date: 12/29/2021