Narcolepsy

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

Research

Studies supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are trying to increase understanding of what causes narcolepsy and improve physicians' ability to detect and treat the disease. Scientists are studying narcolepsy patients and families, looking for clues to the causes, course, and effective treatment of this sleep disorder.

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Recent discovery of families of dogs that are naturally afflicted with narcolepsy has been of great help in these studies. Some of the specific questions being addressed in NIH-supported studies are the nature of genetic and environmental factors that might combine to cause narcolepsy and the immunological, biochemical, physiological, and neuromuscular disturbances associated with narcolepsy.

Related Topics:
Dog - Genetic - Environmental - Biochemical - Physiological - Neuromuscular

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Scientists are also working to better understand sleep mechanisms and the physical and psychological effects of sleep deprivation and to develop better ways of measuring sleepiness and cataplexy.

Related Topics:
Psychological - Sleep deprivation

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Examples of areas of potential research include studies on the pathophysiology of narcolepsy; abnormalities of circadian rhythms, particularly anatomical and biochemical substrates; the molecular genetics of narcolepsy; and the development of new therapies. New, more sensitive, and specific objective diagnostic procedures need to be developed and validated.

Related Topics:
Pathophysiology - Circadian rhythm - Molecular genetics

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While studies in the naturally occurring narcoleptic dog model suggest an autosomal recessive mode of transmission in that model, genetic analysis of cohorts of narcoleptic patients and identification of informative families are needed to define the mode of inheritance and to facilitate the search for gene markers.

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