THERE may be more to the report on the judge who slept through a trial in Australia “Retrial as judge dozes off” (NST, Nov 7) than meets the eye.

Before we jump to conclu - sions, consider this: it might have been beyond his control. The poor judge may be stricken with narcolepsy, a disorder that causes periods of extreme daytime sleepiness. It also may cause muscle weakness. People who are afflicted with this unfortunate disorder fall asleep withoutwarning, even if they are in the middle of talking, eating, or some other activity such as presiding over cases in court. People who have narcolepsy usually have trouble sleeping at night. Medical scientists say that those who suffer from this illness have lowlevels of a certain chemical called hypocretin in the brain. This chemical controls the level of wakefulness in a person and it is not well understood why some have low levels of this chemical in their b r a i n s. Doctors think that heredity could play a part, as well as brain injuries or contact with toxins such as pesticides. Whatever the cause, narcolepsy is difficult to treat.

DR A. SOORIAN, Seremban

Source: NST – November 17, 2008