Sleeping sickness

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African trypanosomiasis

Medications used to treat this disorder include:

• Eflornithine (for T. gambiense only)
• Melarsoprol
• Pentamidine
• Suramin (Antrypol)
• Some patients may receive combination therapy

Without treatment, death may occur within 6 months from cardiac failure or from T. rhodesiense infection itself. T. gambiense infection causes the classic "sleeping sickness" disease and gets worse more quickly, often over a few weeks. Both diseases should be treated immediately.

Complications include injury related to falling asleep while driving or performing other activities, and progressive damage to the nervous system. Sleep becomes uncontrollable as the disease gets worse, and eventually leads to coma.

Inflammation of the heart (myocarditis) may develop.

Call your health care provider if you have symptoms of this disorder. It is important to begin treatment as soon as possible.

Review Date: 12/07/2010
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; Jatin M. Vyas, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Assistant in Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).

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