Blood Test May Be Closer for Narcolepsy

Recent advances by Dr. Emmanuel Mignot's research group at Stanford University may move us closer to being able to diagnose narcolepsy with a blood test, as discussed in a recent piece on The Huffington Post.   Historically, narcolepsy has been difficult to diagnose and prior to the identification of its cause, was often dismissed as a psychiatric manifestation. The condition is relatively rare, affecting 1 in 2,000 people. It is characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness, hallucinations associated with sleep transitions, sleep paralysis, and often cataplexy. Cataplexy is weakness that may manifest as knee buckling or jaw slackness and that occurs in response to an emotional stimulus such as laughter, fright, or pleasure. Narcolepsy is now believed to be due to the autoimmune destruction of a population of cells within the brain that produce a neurotransmitter called hypocretin.   Beyond a clinical assessment, further testing includes the multiple sleep latency testing (MSLT). The ability to quickly fall asleep during naps spaced throughout the day, or the occurrence of REM sleep with these naps, is suggestive of narcolepsy. In addition, cerebrospinal fluid can be tested with a lumbar puncture for the absence of hypocretin, a strong indicator of the condition. Genetic testing can also occur, but it is less specific for the disorder. To this point, blood tests have not been available.   As some of the symptoms of narcolepsy may be difficult to quantify, and may ove...
Source: About Sleep Disorders - Category: Sleep Medicine Source Type: news