Hypersomnia and periodic breathing. Report of a case and review of the literature.

A patient with hypersomnia and periodic breathing has been studied. Both airflow obstruction and an abnormally of the respiratory control mechanism were implicated in the pathogenesis of the ventilatory arrhythmia. It is suggested that the older terms "Pickwick" syndrome and primary alveolar hypoventilation are abandoned for more descriptive terms, e.g. "hypersomnia with periodic breathing".