Letter to the Editor August 31, 2000

Treatment of Kleine-Levin Syndrome: Melatonin on the Starting Block

Charles Kornreich; Pierre Fossion; Guy Hoffmann; Mireille Baleriaux; Isy Pelc

J Clin Psychiatry 2000;61(3):215

Article Abstract

Letter to the Editor

Sir: Kleine-Levin syndrome (KLS) is complex and rare,primarily affects adolescent males, and is characterized by recurrentattacks of hypersomnia, excessive eating, and strikingbehavioral and psychiatric symptoms. It has been hypothesizedthat KLS is related to bipolar affective spectrum disorders.Exogenous melatonin administration does not seem to improvepatients with rapid-cycling bipolar disorder. This treatment,however, has not yet been tested in KLS. We report a case of aman with persistent KLS symptoms that were alleviated aftertreatment with exogenous melatonin.