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HYPERSOMNIA
Hypersomnia is a state of excessive somnolence, in which an adult will sleep as much, or more, than 16 hours a day (the same pattern as newborns). It afflicts a smaller number of TBI patients than insomnia (inability to get to sleep or stay asleep). However, for those affected it is a huge problem, because they have very limited periods of wakefulness. After attending to feeding and hygiene, they have very little time left for therapy or productive activities. Rehab professionals would deal with such a patient by trying to keep them mentally stimulated through activity. Medications which boost dopamine or norepinephrine are sometimes tried.

The new medication for narcolepsy called Modafanil might hold some promise. During Feb. 2001 the New York Times reported that people in Africa who came down with sleeping sickness had responded remarkably well to a drug called eflornithine, which ironically is used as an ingredient in a cream called Vaniqa made by Bristol-Myers & Gillette which removes facial hair by suppressing the skin enzyme responsible for its growth. Apparently the drug helps rouse stuporous, even comatose, patients by killing the parasite (trypanosome) after it has invaded the brain. Does eflornithine do more, i.e. stimulate the brain to wakefulness? This could be a fruitful area of research.