Sleep disorders in childhood.

Childhood sleep-wake disorders are common and associated with significant impairment of quality of life. The recent discovery of hypocretin deficiency as the pathophysiologic basis for narcolepsy-cataplexy is likely to spur the development of hypocretin analogs for definitive treatment [82,83]. The link between disrupted sleep and daytime learning and childhood inattention is a challenging area of mind-brain interaction in which further progress is likely, once methodologic issues have been sorted out. The recent recognition of genetic influences in the control of circadian rhythms also may spur the development of specific therapies for circadian rhythm disorders. In many ways, sleep medicine is benefiting from recent progress in the basic neurosciences, genetics, and technology.