Gencik M, Dahmen N, Wieczorek S, Kasten M, Bierbrauer J, Anghelescu I, Szegedi A, Menezes Saecker A M, Epplen J T
Department of Molecular Human Genetics, Ruhr-University, Bochum, Germany.
Neurology. 2001 Jan 9;56(1):115-7. doi: 10.1212/wnl.56.1.115.
The orexin (hypocretin) neurotransmitter system was recently shown to be directly involved in the pathogenesis of narcolepsy in two animal models. Furthermore, decreased levels of orexin A in the CSF were shown in narcoleptic patients. To define any genetic contribution of orexin to the etiology of narcolepsy, the authors screened the entire prepro-orexin gene for mutations or polymorphisms in 133 patients suffering from narcolepsy. They report an association of a rare polymorphism in the prepro-orexin gene with narcolepsy in a cohort of 178 patients.
