Narcolepsy

Narcolepsy is a neurological condition characterized by severe fatigue, irresistible episodes of sleep and general sleep disorder. It is a kind of dyssomnia.

Causes of narcolepsy

Narcolepsy may be associated with damage to the amygdala. A cerebral protein has recently been discovered that is decreased in a large number or all narcolepsy patients. The protein involved is called hypocretin or orexin. This might explain why narcolepsy runs in families.

Related Topics:
Amygdala - Cerebral - Protein - Hypocretin - Orexin - Families

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The neural control of normal sleep states and the relationship to narcolepsy are only partially understood. In humans, narcoleptic sleep is characterized by a tendency to go abruptly from a waking state to REM sleep with little or no intervening non-REM sleep. The changes in the motor and proprioceptive systems during REM sleep have been studied in both human and animal models. During normal REM sleep, spinal and brainstem alpha motor neuron hypopolarization produces almost complete atonia of skeletal muscles via an inhibitory descending reticulospinal pathway. Acetylcholine may be one of the neurotransmitters involved in this pathway. In narcolepsy, the reflex inhibition of the motor system seen in cataplexy is believed identical to that seen in normal REM sleep.

Related Topics:
Proprioceptive system - Alpha motor neuron - Hypopolarization - Atonia - Skeletal muscle - Acetylcholine - Neurotransmitter

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Despite the experimental evidence in human narcolepsy that there may be an inherited basis for at least some forms of narcolepsy, the mode of inheritance remains unknown.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~