Navigation Links
Narcolepsy is an autoimmune disorder, Stanford researcher says
Date:5/3/2009

STANFORD, Calif. Ten years ago, Stanford University School of Medicine scientist Emmanuel Mignot, MD, PhD, and his colleagues made headlines when they identified the culprit behind the sleep disorder narcolepsy. Now Mignot and his collaborators have shown for the first time that a specific immune cell is involved in the disorder confirming experts' long-held suspicion that narcolepsy is an autoimmune disease.

The work, which will be published online May 3 in Nature Genetics, could lead to better treatments for the sleep disorder and help immunologists understand other, more common autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis and juvenile diabetes.

"We're now getting the main pieces of what's happening in narcolepsy," said Mignot, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator who has been studying the disease for more than two decades. "What's most satisfying to me is that we're bringing this story to a close and that we can use narcolepsy as a model for other diseases."

Narcolepsy affects about one in 2,000 people and is characterized by daytime drowsiness, irregular sleep at night and cataplexy a sudden loss of muscle tone and strength. Mignot and others showed in the late 1990s that the disease stems from a lack of hypocretin, a hormone that promotes wakefulness; they later showed that narcoleptics are missing brain cells that produce this hormone.

Mignot and others believe that the body's immune system plays a role in killing hypocretin-making cells, primarily because of scientific literature showing a link between narcolepsy and a variant for the human leukocyte antigen, or HLA, gene. The immune system uses HLAs to differentiate between "self" cells and foreign cells (and attacks those presented as foreign), and most autoimmune diseases are associated with variants of HLA. In recent studies, more than 90 percent of narcolepsy patients were shown to carry one such variant.

"For a long time, peopl
'/>"/>

Contact: Michelle Brandt
mbrandt@stanford.edu
650-723-0272
Stanford University Medical Center
Source:Eurekalert

1

GOOD

Page: 1 2 3

Related medicine news :

1. Lower metabolism, eating behavior possibly explain the cause of overweight in narcolepsy
2. Publication Provides a Wake-Up Call For Clinicians Treating Narcolepsy
3. Narcolepsy Drug Might Be Addictive
4. M.D. Anderson-led team reports possible key to autoimmune disease
5. Occupational exposures may be linked to death from autoimmune disease
6. AutoImmune Inc. Reports 2007 Third Quarter Financial Results
7. New protein discovery helps researchers understand autoimmune diseases
8. Video: New Autoimmunity Public Service Campaign Alerts Men About Their Autoimmune Disease Risk
9. Mergent, Inc. Announces Changes to the HealthShares(TM) Composite, Enabling Technologies, Autoimmune-Inflammation, Cancer, Cardiology and Neuroscience Indexes
10. AutoImmune Inc. Reports 2008 First Quarter Financial Results
11. Weizmann Institute scientists develop a new approach to treating autoimmune disease
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
(Date:5/24/2013)... (LA JOLLA, Calif.) (PRWEB) May 24, 2013 ... letter to House Appropriators and the California congressional ... them to restore sequestered industry user fees paid ... 2013, and to ensure that future across-the-board cuts ... as part of the FY14 Agriculture, Rural Development ...
(Date:5/24/2013)... OR (PRWEB) May 24, 2013 ... Sustainable Cards, major competitors in sustainable card material, ... of using forest materials as a sustainable gift ... is to identify industry challenges and increase education ... card programs to support the reduction of carbon ...
(Date:5/24/2013)... May 24 (HealthDay News) -- Drugs commonly used to ... effects that can interfere with vision, according to a ... (PGAs), which are used to reduce eye pressure, have ... changes in eye color, the researchers said, suggesting that ... PGAs. Doctors should be conservative when prescribing ...
(Date:5/24/2013)... 2013 Started in 1982, AMTC’s SHINE event ... 2013 marks AMTC’s 31st anniversary. SHINE is a ministry run ... Millie Lewis and her daughter, Carey Lewis Arban. , This ... directors, and music professionals including the New York Film Academy, ... They are kings of Hollywood and Christian casting directors. They ...
(Date:5/24/2013)... 24, 2013 Let’s face it: very few ... uncommon for the majority of people to be uncomfortable with ... to a coffee addiction or simply genetics, yellowish or stained ... so popular. , Herald Square Dental is proud ... whitening system: Venus White Max. , Teeth become discolored ...
Breaking Medicine News(10 mins):Health News:California Biomedical Industry Leaders Urge Congress to Take Action on FDA User Fees for FY2014 2Health News:California Biomedical Industry Leaders Urge Congress to Take Action on FDA User Fees for FY2014 3Health News:Making Gift Cards Greener- Competitors Combine Efforts to Educate and Empower Merchants 2Health News:Making Gift Cards Greener- Competitors Combine Efforts to Educate and Empower Merchants 3Health News:Common Glaucoma Drug May Cause Droopy Eyelids, Study Finds 2Health News:AMTC’s Summer SHINE Event Coming to Orlando’s Luxurious Gaylord Palms July 2-7, 2013 2Health News:Herald Square Dental Introduces New In-office Whitening System: Venus White Max 2
... of Hollywood actress Katie Holmes, has declared that she will ... ,The 18-year-old fashion student, who has infuriated Katie, ... days 15 hours 12 minutes and 40 seconds. ... porn star. Katie is well known as she has fathered ...
... It seems that Hollywood hunk Brad Pitt is enjoying parental bliss ... the pregnant Myleene Klass at Cannes, Pitt poured his heart out ... have had your first scan yet? They're mind-blowing. Get ready to ... - it's the best thing that ever happened to me,' the ...
... majority of chemotherapy errors identified in children reach patients, ... cancer drug errors in children . Published in the ... of the American Cancer Society, the study concluded that ... associated with errors, and that errors in drug administration ...
... scare over soft drinks is in the making following revelations that ... Pepsi Max has the ability to switch off vital parts ... when parts of DNA are disabled, as it were, it could ... as Parkinson's. ,Concerns centre on the safety of E211, ...
... 2007 graduates of the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental ... or develop renewable energy in order to offset the pollution ... on Memorial Day. ,The 131-member class will spend ... carbon dioxide, which is equivalent to the combined weight of ...
... one of the largest ever Parkinson's disease (PD) clinical ... can slow the symptom progression of this disorder. ... in which patients develop tremor, slowness of movements and ... people in the U.S. Currently, there are a number ...
Cached Medicine News:Health News:Most Pediatric Chemotherapy Mistakes Reach Patients 2Health News:Soft Drink Additive Could Cause Cell Damage 2Health News:Soft Drink Additive Could Cause Cell Damage 3Health News:Yale F&ES Graduation to Offset Gas Linked to Global Warming 2Health News:Emory Participates in Study to Slow Progression of Parkinson's Disease 2
(Date:5/24/2013)... , May 24, 2013  Regulatory and marketplace ... of many organizations, priority list. ... sectors understand a strong Medical Affairs ... clinical development, market education , and regulatory ... a vital bridge between an organization and one ...
(Date:5/24/2013)... , May 24, 2013  BD (Becton, Dickinson and ... technology company, announced today that it will present at the ... Thursday, May 30, 2013, at 10:40 a.m. (ET). ... from the BD corporate website at www.bd.com/investors and ... About BD BD is a ...
(Date:5/24/2013)... , May 24, 2013 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Phoenix Houses of ... substance abuse services organization, is hosting its tenth annual ... Hotel on June 6, 2013.  More than 300 people ... for the adolescent residential treatment centers, family therapy, and ... individuals whose accomplishments have positive influences on the health and ...
Breaking Medicine Technology:Building Medical Affairs Capabilities to Ensure Organizational Success across Key Operational Areas 2Phoenix House Honors Allergan Chairman David Pyott And Legendary Sports Agent And Humanitarian, Leigh Steinberg 2Phoenix House Honors Allergan Chairman David Pyott And Legendary Sports Agent And Humanitarian, Leigh Steinberg 3
... 6, 2011 Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ... today announced that it has entered into agreements ... Commercialization Services, Inc. (ICS) to support the anticipated ... should it be approved by the Food and ...
... 5, 2011 Reportlinker.com announces ... report is available in its ... Aesthetics (Botox, Dermal Fillers, Collagen) ... Landscape and Market Forecasts to ...
Cached Medicine Technology:Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Expands EXPAREL™ Commercial Team Infrastructure 2Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Expands EXPAREL™ Commercial Team Infrastructure 3Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Expands EXPAREL™ Commercial Team Infrastructure 4Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Expands EXPAREL™ Commercial Team Infrastructure 5Facial Aesthetics (Botox, Dermal Fillers, Collagen) - Global Pipeline Analysis, Competitive Landscape and Market Forecasts to 2017 2Facial Aesthetics (Botox, Dermal Fillers, Collagen) - Global Pipeline Analysis, Competitive Landscape and Market Forecasts to 2017 3Facial Aesthetics (Botox, Dermal Fillers, Collagen) - Global Pipeline Analysis, Competitive Landscape and Market Forecasts to 2017 4Facial Aesthetics (Botox, Dermal Fillers, Collagen) - Global Pipeline Analysis, Competitive Landscape and Market Forecasts to 2017 5Facial Aesthetics (Botox, Dermal Fillers, Collagen) - Global Pipeline Analysis, Competitive Landscape and Market Forecasts to 2017 6Facial Aesthetics (Botox, Dermal Fillers, Collagen) - Global Pipeline Analysis, Competitive Landscape and Market Forecasts to 2017 7Facial Aesthetics (Botox, Dermal Fillers, Collagen) - Global Pipeline Analysis, Competitive Landscape and Market Forecasts to 2017 8Facial Aesthetics (Botox, Dermal Fillers, Collagen) - Global Pipeline Analysis, Competitive Landscape and Market Forecasts to 2017 9
... The Trans-Blot SD semi-dry ... and economical blotting. Using a ... anode and a stainless steel ... Trans-Blot SD cell transfers in ...
Semi-Dry Blotting Unit for 10 x 10cm Gels...
... Transfers depurinated DNA and RNA from ... little as 15 minutes ,Increases speed and ... to be applied to gel ,Part of ... transfer and UV crosslinking in 2.5 hours, ...
... from agarose gels to hybridization membranes in ... and efficiency of transfer by allowing high ... of an integrated system allowing electrophoresis, gel ... hours, versus 29 hours required for conventional ...
Medicine Products: