Narcolepsy is classified as a chronic sleep disorder that interferes and disrupts the usual sleep-wake cycle. Narcolepsy can affect people of all ages; however it often first appears in adolescence.
There are many symptoms of narcolepsy which include excessive daytime sleepiness. People who suffer from narcolepsy genetic disorder may feel very tired all day as a result they may often feel like going to sleep during the day. Affected individuals can also suffer from 'Sleep attacks' which can occur during unusual times such as during a conversation or during eating a meal.
A 'Sleep attack' can vary in duration and may last for a few minutes or over an hour.
One more commonality of narcolepsy genetic disorder is a reduction in muscle tone which is usually as a result of strong emotions like surprise, laughing or anger. This extreme muscle weakness may lead to the affected person falling over which may lead to injury.
Narcolepsy also disturbs sleep at night; many sufferers will have difficulty sleeping more than 3 hours or so. During the process of falling asleep or waking up them will often experience vivid hallucinations.People who suffer from this condition may often have vivid and scary dreams which may result in them moving a lot in bed or shouting out in their sleep.
It is also common for people who suffer from narcolepsy to have an experience of sleep paralysis. This means that they will unable to speak or move during the process of getting to sleep or waking up.When combined hallucinations, sleep paralysis and vivid dreams may be upsetting and frightening for the affected individual.Research has found that narcolepsy affects around 1 in every 2,000 people living in the United States of America. However some people only have mild symptoms so the condition is likely to be under-diagnosed. It has been found that Japan has the highest rate of narcolepsy as it affects around 1 in every 600 people.
It has been found that narcolepsy is caused by both genetic and environmental factors.
In some narcolepsy cases genetic disorder sleep abnormalities has been found to be as a result of a loss of very specific brain cells called neurons in the area of the brain the hypothalamus.
The brain cells in question are responsible for producing chemicals called Hypo cretins which have important functions in our body. It is in fact these chemicals which control our sleep-wake cycle.Research has found that changes in many genes may influence the likelihood of an particular person developing narcolepsy.
The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) complex is a family of genes that contains the gene HLA-DQB1. This gene is responsible for helping our immune system know our own body\'s proteins from that of invading substances such as bacteria and viruses.The HLA-DQB1 gene has a variation know as HLA-DQB1*06:02 which has been strongly linked with narcolepsy and it has been found that most people who suffer from narcolepsy possess the HLA-DQB1*06:02 variation.
However it not yet completely known how these changes in genes influence the risk of an individual developing narcolepsy genetic disorder.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/sleep-articles/narcolepsy-genetic-disorder-influencing-genes-5578125.html
Author: Daniel Tukavkin
About the Author
If you would like to learn more about Modavigil as a treatment for narcolepsy and cataplexy go to BuyModavigil.com to access your free information on modavigil including revealing reports on its effects, costs and more.
No comments:
Post a Comment