Are sleep disorders and sleep attacks really only in Parkinson patients drug induced?

Since 1999 Pramipexol and Ropinirol have been suspected of triggering sleep attacks in relation to patients suffering from Parkinson disease. Our study aims to investigate, wether episodes of micro sleep as a result of disordered night sleep - however it may be caused - could be responsible. Therefore, patients with chronic pain treated in an in-patient pain clinic were interviewed on excessive daytime sleepiness, proneness to fall asleep and sudden-onset sleep. Data analysis included 37 questionnaires of patients with chronic pain. More than the half of this patients stated that they sometimes fall asleep during the day - as the rule after preceeding tiredness. Four patients (11%) reported to fall asleep completely surprising without preceeding tiredness. All four patients had taken a combination of different pain drugs. Thus at least the question can be asked, if a specific effect of the medication or if a chronic overfatigue as an after-effect of chronic disorder of night sleep leads to this symptomatology.