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narcolepsy
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Extent and Health Consequences of Chronic Sleep Loss and ... - NCBI ncbi.nlm.nih.gov 57 facts
claimHuman and canine narcolepsy share pharmacological aspects.
claimPharmacological treatment for daytime sleepiness in narcolepsy with cataplexy involves modafinil or amphetamine-like stimulants, which likely function by increasing dopamine transmission.
claimNarcolepsy is associated with excessive daytime sleepiness, which is defined as a background of constant sleepiness with sleep attacks leading to unintended napping during the day.
claimPeriodic limb movements are observed in individuals with narcolepsy, REM sleep behavior disorder, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and hypersomnia.
claimAn unknown portion of narcolepsy cases may be caused by partial or complete hypocretin deficiency, according to research by Kanbayashi et al. (2002), Krahn et al. (2002), and Mignot et al. (2002a).
claimNarcolepsy is associated with symptoms including excessive daytime sleepiness, cataplexy, sleep paralysis, hypnagogic/hypnopompic hallucinations, insomnia, autonomic behavior, and REM behavior disorder.
claimSleep paralysis in narcolepsy is defined as muscle paralysis akin to REM sleep atonia that occurs while awake, when falling asleep, or when waking up.
referenceNarcolepsy is characterized by specific neurobiological, diagnostic, and treatment parameters.
referenceThe neurobiology, diagnosis, and treatment of narcolepsy were reviewed in a 2003 study.
claimThe loss of hypocretin cells in narcolepsy with cataplexy may be autoimmune in nature due to the association with the HLA-DQB1*0602 haplotype.
claimSecondary cases of narcolepsy or hypersomnia can occur in the context of psychiatric disorders (e.g., depression), central nervous system tumors (notably in the hypothalamus), neurodegenerative disorders (e.g., Parkinson’s disease), inflammatory disorders (e.g., multiple sclerosis or paraneoplastic syndromes), traumatic disorders (e.g., head trauma), vascular disorders (e.g., median thalamic stroke), and genetic disorders (e.g., myotonic dystrophy or Prader-Willi syndrome).
referenceMignot E, Lammers GJ, Ripley B, Okun M, Nevsimalova S, Overeem S, Vankova J, Black J, Harsh J, Bassetti C, Schrader H, and Nishino S published 'The role of cerebrospinal fluid hypocretin measurement in the diagnosis of narcolepsy and other hypersomnias' in the Archives of Neurology in 2002.
measurementApproximately 3.9 percent of the general population has Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT) score abnormalities consistent with narcolepsy without cataplexy.
procedureNarcolepsy can be diagnosed clinically, by using the Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT), or by measuring cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) hypocretin-1.
measurementThe prevalence of narcolepsy with definite cataplexy in adults is 0.02 to 0.05 percent of the population in Western Europe and North America.
claimIn most cases of narcolepsy, naps are refreshing, but the resulting rested feeling only lasts for a short time.
claimThe causes of sleep loss are multifactorial and categorized into two overlapping groups: lifestyle/occupational factors (such as shift work, prolonged working hours, jet lag, and irregular sleep schedules) and sleep disorders (such as insomnia, sleep-disordered breathing, restless legs syndrome, narcolepsy, and circadian rhythm disorders).
referenceKanbayashi et al. (2002) measured cerebrospinal fluid hypocretin-1 (orexin-A) concentrations in patients with narcolepsy (with and without cataplexy) and idiopathic hypersomnia.
claimNarcolepsy with cataplexy affects males and females equally, with symptoms usually arising during adolescence.
referenceThe clinical spectrum of narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia was reviewed by M.S. Aldrich in a 1996 article published in Neurology.
referenceMignot (1998) published a review in Neurology regarding the genetic and familial aspects of narcolepsy.
referenceThannickal et al. observed a reduced number of hypocretin neurons in human narcolepsy in a 2000 study published in Neuron.
claimIndividuals with narcolepsy with cataplexy experience severe neuronal loss in brain regions responsible for regulating the sleep-wake cycle, specifically losing approximately 70,000 hypothalamic neurons that produce the neuropeptide hypocretin (orexin).
claimLow levels of hypocretin-1 in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) can be used to diagnose narcolepsy in some cases.
referenceB. Roth reviewed and classified 642 personally observed cases of narcolepsy and hypersomnia in a 1976 study published in Schweizer Archiv fur Neurologie, Neurochirurgie und Psychiatrie.
referenceNishino and Mignot published a review on the pharmacological aspects of human and canine narcolepsy in Progress in Neurobiology in 1997.
claimSevere sleepiness in narcolepsy can manifest as automatic behavior, which is the continuation of activities in a semiautomatic manner while sleepy, with no subsequent memory of the actions.
claimHuman narcolepsy is associated with a reduced number of hypocretin neurons, as reported by Thannickal et al. in the journal Neuron in 2000.
claimNarcolepsy often arises during the mid to late teenage years, but incorrect initial diagnoses frequently result in delays of 15 to 25 years before the correct diagnosis is made (Broughton et al., 1997).
claimSusceptibility to narcolepsy with cataplexy is influenced by both genetic and environmental factors.
claimCommon sleep conditions include sleep loss, sleep-disordered breathing, insomnia, narcolepsy, restless legs syndrome, parasomnias, sleep-related psychiatric disorders, sleep-related neurological disorders, sleep-related medical disorders, and circadian rhythm sleep disorders.
claimExcessive daytime sleepiness in narcolepsy is defined as a background of constant sleepiness with sleep attacks leading to unintended napping during the day, where naps are refreshing but the rested feeling is short-lived.
claimThe treatment of narcolepsy without cataplexy and idiopathic hypersomnia utilizes compounds similar to those used for narcolepsy with cataplexy, most notably modafinil and amphetamine-like stimulants (Billiard and Dauvilliers, 2001).
claimLarge-scale clinical trials have not examined the efficacy and safety of drugs used to treat narcolepsy in children and adolescents.
claimEpisodes of narcolepsy and hypersomnia are associated with behavioral and cognitive abnormalities, binge eating, or hypersexuality, and they alternate with long asymptomatic periods lasting months or years.
referenceEmmanuel Mignot reviewed a hundred years of narcolepsy research in a 2001 article published in Archives of Italian Biology.
claimThe cause of hypocretin cell loss in narcolepsy is unknown, but it may be autoimmune due to the association with the HLA-DQB1*0602 haplotype.
claimAutonomic behavior in narcolepsy involves continuing to function, such as talking or putting things away, during sleep episodes, followed by awakening with no memory of performing such activities.
claimNarcolepsy and hypersomnia can affect children, adolescents, adults, and older persons, with most cases beginning in adolescence.
referenceKrahn et al. (2002) analyzed hypocretin (orexin) levels in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with narcolepsy and their relationship to cataplexy and HLA DQB1*0602 status.
referenceLammers GJ and Overeem S reviewed the pharmacological management of narcolepsy in a 2003 article published in Expert Opinions in Pharmacotherapy.
claimThe onset of narcolepsy can negatively impact school performance.
referenceEmmanuel Mignot published research on the genetic and familial aspects of narcolepsy in Neurology in 1998.
referenceMignot et al. (2002) established that cerebrospinal fluid hypocretin measurement is a relevant diagnostic tool for narcolepsy and other hypersomnias.
claimNarcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia are defined by a clinically significant complaint of excessive daytime sleepiness that is not explained by circadian sleep disorders, sleep-disordered breathing, sleep deprivation, or other medical conditions (AASM, 2005).
claimNarcolepsy with cataplexy affects males and females equally.
referenceT.E. Scammell reviewed the neurobiology, diagnosis, and treatment of narcolepsy in a 2003 article published in the Annals of Neurology.
claimInsomnia in the context of narcolepsy is typically characterized by difficulty maintaining sleep.
claimCurrent pharmacological treatments for narcolepsy do not aim to improve the defective neurotransmission caused by hypocretin deficiency, as noted by Mignot et al. (1993), Nishino and Mignot (1997), and Wisor et al. (2001).
claimIndividuals who suffer from narcolepsy with cataplexy typically carry the haplotype HLA-DQB1*0602 and experience severe neuronal loss in brain regions responsible for regulating the sleep-wake cycle.
procedureThe diagnosis of narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia is primarily based on the Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT), which objectively quantifies daytime sleepiness (Carskadon et al., 1986; Arand et al., 2005).
referenceOvereem S, Scammell TE, and Lammers GJ published an article on the implications of hypocretin/orexin for the pathophysiology and diagnosis of narcolepsy in Current Opinion in Neurology in 2002.
claimCommon sleep conditions identified by the Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Sleep Medicine and Research include sleep loss, sleep-disordered breathing, insomnia, narcolepsy, restless legs syndrome, parasomnias, sleep-related psychiatric disorders, sleep-related neurological disorders, sleep-related medical disorders, and circadian rhythm sleep disorders.
claimA 2000 study published in Nature Medicine identified a mutation in a case of early-onset narcolepsy and observed a generalized absence of hypocretin peptides in human narcoleptic brains.
claimSodium oxybate (gamma hydroxybutyric acid) is used at night to consolidate disturbed nocturnal sleep and is effective in treating cataplexy and other narcolepsy symptoms.
referenceJuji T et al. reported that all Japanese patients with narcolepsy in their 1984 study were HLA-DR2 positive, as published in Tissue Antigens.
referenceBroughton RJ et al. conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial of modafinil for treating excessive daytime sleepiness in narcolepsy, published in Neurology in 1997.
Physiology, Sleep Stages - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf - NIH ncbi.nlm.nih.gov 3 facts
claimNarcolepsy is a sleep cycle disorder characterized by persistent daytime sleepiness and brief episodes of muscle weakness known as cataplexy.
claimIndividuals with narcolepsy can enter the REM phase and experience dreams during short naps.
claimPolysomnography is used to evaluate nocturnal seizures, periodic limb movement disorder, narcolepsy, and REM sleep behavior disorder.
How sleep affects mental health (and vice versa) - Stanford Medicine med.stanford.edu Aug 11, 2025 2 facts
procedureStanford Medicine researchers suggest consulting a sleep specialist if sleep issues persist for weeks or months, as the problem could be a chronic condition such as sleep apnea, circadian rhythm disorder, narcolepsy, or chronic insomnia.
claimSleep issues lasting for weeks or months may indicate a chronic condition such as sleep apnea, circadian rhythm disorder, narcolepsy, or chronic insomnia, and warrant consultation with a sleep specialist.
Exploring “lucid sleep” and altered states of consciousness using ... philosophymindscience.org Jan 7, 2025 1 fact
referenceHishikawa and Kaneko (1965) conducted an electroencephalographic study on narcolepsy, published in Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology.
The Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Your Body - Healthline healthline.com Aug 23, 2024 1 fact
claimCommon types of sleep disorders include obstructive sleep apnea, narcolepsy, restless leg syndrome, insomnia, and circadian rhythm disorders.
Impact of sleep duration on executive function and brain structure nature.com Mar 3, 2022 1 fact
claimLow cerebellar volume has been associated with poor sleep quality in adolescents and with abnormal functional imaging in sleep disruption conditions such as narcolepsy and obstructive sleep apnoea.
Sleep Deprivation: What It Is, Symptoms, Treatment & Stages my.clevelandclinic.org Aug 11, 2022 1 fact
procedureThe Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT) examines whether a person is prone to falling asleep during the daytime and is a key part of diagnosing narcolepsy.
Sleep Deprivation Can Lead to a Plethora of Diseases bergerhenryent.com Jan 26, 2019 1 fact
claimNarcolepsy is defined as the condition of falling asleep suddenly, at any time and in any place.