Narcolepsy

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Narcolepsy

• Vanessa Brown

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Symptoms

• Four classic symptoms
• Daytime sleepiness
• Cataplexy
• Sleep paralysis
• Hypnagogic(beginning of sleep) hallucinations

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Causes

• Up to 95 less hypocretin neurons than in normal
  people
• These neurons pick up hypocretin(orexin), which
  helps regulate sleep and appetite
• Usually not genetic- rarely more than one
  narcoleptic in a family
• Possibly caused by a loss of hypocretin neurons
  later in life

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Treatment

• Chronic, lifetime disease
• Drugs modafinil, antidepressants, GHB
• Behavior therapy
• Lifestyle adjustments diet, sleep

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Recent Research

• Cause (lack of hypocretin neurons) was identified
  in 2000
• Studied amount of hypocretin neurons in normal
  and narcoleptic brains
• Almost nonexistent in narcoleptics
• Signs of gliosis, an inflammatory process
• Could be caused by an immune response or
  biological factors
• Could treat by replacing hypocretin cells (dogs)

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Hypocretin levels Normal vs. Narcoleptic
these are from Dr. Siegels study
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Research continued

• Immune system may play a part (2004)
• Measured levels of proinflammatory cytokines and
  hGH
• Significantly higher in narcoleptic brains than
  in normal ones
• May be a cause

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Bibliography

• Cause of Narcolepsy www.ninds.nih.gov
• Okun, et al. Exploring the Cytokine and Endocrine
  Involvement in Narcolepsy. Brain, Behavior, and
  Immunity. July 2004, p.326-332.
• Siegel et al. Reduced Number of Hypocretin
  Neurons in Human Narcolepsy. Neuron, September
  2000, p. 469-474.
• What is Narcolepsy? www.ninds.nih.gov