Natural brain chemical can treat narcolepsy

Main Category: Sleep / Sleep Disorders / Insomnia
Article Date: 16 Mar 2004 - 0:00 PDT

The Sleeping disorder, narcolepsy, can be treated by a natural brain chemical, say US scientists. When mice were injected with orexin their narcolepsy got better, said scientists at Texas University. Symptoms of narcolepsy such as muscle weakness (cataplexy) were reduced. They also found that the injecting of orexin made the mice more alert. You can read about this study in the Proceedings of the National Academy Sciences. The scientists genetically modified the mice so that they could not produce orexin naturally, said Dr Masashi Yanagisawa, professor of molecular genetics, Texas University, USA. Orexin is produced in the hypothalamus (in the brain), it is produced by nerve cells. Scientists believe that people who suffer from narcolepsy cannot produce orexin because of damage in the nerve cells. After injecting the mice with orexin peptides the scientists found that the mice were more awake, slept more regularly (better sleeping patterns) and did not have any more cataplectic fits. There was not a feeling of loss of sleep while the mice were awake on orexin. Currently, when patients are on amphetamine treatment they get 'rebound sleep' where they have to regain the sleep they have lost while awake. Dr Yanagisawa said 'This is extremely important because it shows that these mice retain the ability to respond to orexin. Our experiments provide a strong proof of concept that introducing into the brain a molecule that mimics the effect of orexin will be the fundamental cure for narcolepsy.' He believes new treatment could be developed from orexin receptor agonists (they mimic orexin's effects). He also thinks new treatments could be developed from this to help insomniacs stay awake during the day. Hundreds of thousand of people around the world suffer from narcolepsy.

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