Dangerous day dreams

And that’s not funny.

Brent Allen Caputo is afflicted with cataplexy, a seizure-like disorder that — out of the blue — almost completely paralyzes him.

Strong emotions, including laughter, can trigger a cataplexic attack.

The condition is commonly associated with narcolepsy, from which Caputo suffers.

Narcolepsy is a neurological disease characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness, episodes in which people fall asleep without warning — for a few seconds or as long as 30 minutes, and disturbed nighttime sleep.

Many, but not all, narcolepsy patients also suffer from cataplexy, which involves the sudden and almost complete loss of muscle tone.

A Kenosha resident, Caputo, 35 was diagnosed with narcolepsy and cataplexy in 2003.

“I was working at a factory,” he recalled. “A co-worker told me a joke and I laughed — and then fell down. The excitement of laughing made me collapse.”

Caputo was transported to an emergency room and eventually referred to Dr. Alfred Habel, director of the Sleep Disorders Center at Kenosha Medical Center, because doctors suspected a sleep-related problem.

Habel is a pulmonary specialist and sleep-disorder expert.

Caputo underwent a sleep study at the center, which resulted in his diagnosis.

Cataplexy usually is the most worrisome aspect of narcolepsy for those who have both.

“Cataplexy is rapid-eye-movement (REM) dream-sleep intrusion into daytime functioning,” Habel said. “In other words, the person suddenly goes into dream sleep. When you’re in REM sleep the only muscles that are functioning are the eye muscles and diaphragm — or breathing muscle. So you’re in a state of nearly total paralysis.”

Cataplexic seizures can be triggered by strong emotions such as stress, exhilaration, excitement, surprise and anger.

“If I suddenly get surprised, or I’m really happy or really sad — or have any intense emotion — I can lose muscle tone and fall down for a few moments, unable to move,” Caputo said.

Obviously, it’s a dangerous condition.

“The person can be driving or working and suddenly experience cataplexy,” Habel explained. “They don’t really lose consciousness. They are still aware of what’s going on. They can’t move but are still able to hear, feel and see.”

Caputo, an aspiring actor, said he was injured when he suffered a cataplexic episode while working on a movie.

“In November of last year I experienced an attack in the middle of doing an independent film in Kenosha,” he said. “I ended up in the emergency room.”

The script called for him to run near a car.

“The intent was for the driver to come close to hitting my character in the film, but when you look at the footage you can see my head dropping,” Caputo said. “I went down head first and the car hit me. I went over it and landed on my face.”

He suffered facial injuries that required stitches. He said he is lucky to have survived the accident.

Why does he take such chances?

“At the time, I was in denial,” he said. “I had stopped taking medication and stopped going to the doctor. I just didn’t want to face the reality of what I have.”

The accident compelled him to get back into treatment.

Caputo takes medication for the disorders, but his is an extreme case, Habel said.

Even with the medicine, Caputo said he has two or three cataplexic attacks per week and is unable to work. He lives with his parents.

Habel said that cataplexy is impossible to cure.

“But we try to control it as much as possible,” he said. “Ideally, we try to limit (attacks) to a couple of times a year. But Brent has more than most patients.”

It’s important to try to control emotional triggers that bring on attacks, Habel said. But that’s very difficult because so many incidents and stimuli can provoke them.

Narcolepsy keeps Caputo in a persistently sleepy state.

“I’m on (stimulant) medication during the day that helps keep me at an even keel,” he said. “But I’m still constantly sleepy. I need to take 10- or 15-minute naps when I get extremely tired. And sometimes I have to sleep for hours during the day because my body just won’t wake up.”

Cataplexy is a life-limiting condition, he said.

“None of the medications I’ve been on have been 100 percent effective,” he said. “But if they lessen the number of attacks, I’m happy with that.”