A 17-year-old girl in Colombia drops into bouts of sleep that can last for days, weeks, or even months. During her extensive slumbers, the girl often loses her memory; after one 48-day episode, she temporarily forgot her own mother’s face, according to news reports.
The girl, Sharik Tovar, is one of the few people with a rare condition called Kleine-Levin syndrome, otherwise known as “Sleeping Beauty” syndrome. Unlike the fictional Sleeping Beauty, people with Kleine-Levin syndrome can be woken up during an episode and may wake up occasionally on their own to eat or use the bathroom, according to the National Organization for Rare Disorders.
Scientists estimate that the syndrome manifests in 1 to 5 people out of every million. Historically, more than 500 cases of the condition have been reported in the medical literature, although the unusual syndrome likely goes underdiagnosed.
Tovar first developed the condition when she was 2 years old, and her longest episode to date lasted for two months, her mother told. When Tovar is bedridden, her mother liquifies all of the girl’s food and feeds her every few hours to ensure she gets enough nutrition.
When awake, the affected person may feel confused and disoriented, and many individuals show a complete lack of energy and emotion. Most patients report that “everything seems out of focus” and that noise and light in the room feel overwhelming.