Cataplexy News and Research

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Researchers discover how the body's muscles accidentally fall asleep while awake

Normally muscles contract in order to support the body, but in a rare condition known as cataplexy the body's muscles "fall asleep" and become involuntarily paralyzed. Cataplexy is incapacitating because it leaves the affected individual awake, but either fully or partially paralyzed. It is one of the bizarre symptoms of the sleep disorder called narcolepsy.

11 Oct 2013

Study proposes novel treatment for narcolepsy

Lancet Neurology, a prestigious journal in its domain, publishes in its last issue, an article entitled "Pitolisant versus placebo and modafinil in patients with narcolepsy: a double-blind randomised trial" authored by Y. Dauvilliers and others from the HARMONY I study group which proposes a novel treatment for this orphan disease. It is accompanied by a Commentary entitled "A need for new treatments in narcolepsy".

10 Oct 2013

Study shows possible biological cause of narcolepsy

In 2000, researchers at the UCLA Center for Sleep Research published findings showing that people suffering from narcolepsy, a disorder characterized by uncontrollable periods of deep sleep, had 90 percent fewer neurons containing the neuropeptide hypocretin in their brains than healthy people.

4 Jul 2013

People with narcolepsy have increased number of neurons that produce histamine

A new study provides surprising evidence that people with narcolepsy have an increased number of neurons that produce histamine, suggesting that histamine signaling may be a novel therapeutic target for this potentially disabling sleep disorder.

4 Jun 2013

Somnogen induces sleep in patients with primary hypersomnia

Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine have discovered that dozens of adults with an elevated need for sleep have a substance in their cerebrospinal fluid that acts like a sleeping pill.

22 Nov 2012

Jazz Pharmaceuticals receives new U.S. patent for Xyrem oral solution

Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc. today announced that a new patent related to Xyrem (sodium oxybate) oral solution titled "Microbiologically Sound and Stable Solutions of Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate Salt for the Treatment of Narcolepsy" will issue today.

11 Sep 2012

Investigational Insomnia Medicine from Merck improved patients’ ability to fall and stay asleep according to new phase III Data

Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced new data from two pivotal Phase III efficacy trials for suvorexant, the investigational medicine Merck is developing for the treatment of insomnia. In the studies, suvorexant significantly reduced the time it took patients to fall asleep and increased the time that patients stayed asleep as early as the first night and at the three-month time point compared to placebo. The investigational medicine met statistical significance for all primary endpoints except for one measurement at Month 3 in one of the trials. These late-breaking data were presented here today at SLEEP 2012, the 26th Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies.

13 Jun 2012

Parents blame swine flu vaccine for son’s narcolepsy

A six year old boy’s parents have claimed that he developed narcolepsy after a swine flu vaccination. Caroline Hadfield said son Josh lost muscle control and started sleeping up to 19 hours a day three weeks after being given Pandemrix nearly two years ago.

12 Dec 2011

Narcolepsy more prevalent in China during April

New research shows that the occurrence of narcolepsy in China is highly correlated to a seasonal pattern, with onset most frequent in April.

22 Aug 2011

Winter airway infections appear to trigger narcolepsy: Study

The onset of narcolepsy appears to follow seasonal patterns of H1N1 and other upper airway infections, according to a new study of patients in China that was led by Stanford University School of Medicine narcolepsy expert Emmanuel Mignot, MD.

22 Aug 2011

Arena fourth quarter net loss decreases to $28.2 million

Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2010, and reviewed recent developments.

11 Mar 2011

Arena third quarter net loss increases to $36.3 million

Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2010. Arena also reported earlier today top-line results from its lorcaserin Phase 3 BLOOM-DM (Behavioral modification and Lorcaserin for Overweight and Obesity Management in Diabetes Mellitus) trial.

9 Nov 2010

Collapsing with laughter: Literally

Dr. Claire Allen, 35, suffers from rare and severe form of sleeping sickness that makes her pass out 100 times in a day. She is a research scientist at the British Antarctic Survey and she said that she has suffered from cataplexy, a severe form of narcolepsy that sees her lose control of her body and collapse into a deep sleep – although she remains conscious throughout.

3 Nov 2010

Arena reports results of APD916 Phase 1 clinical trial for narcolepsy with cataplexy

Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today results from a Phase 1 clinical trial of APD916, a novel drug candidate discovered by Arena that targets the histamine H3 receptor for the treatment of narcolepsy with cataplexy.

20 Oct 2010

Arena Pharmaceuticals reports lower net loss of $31.3 million in first-quarter 2010

Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2010.

7 May 2010

Arena Pharmaceuticals initiates patient screening for phase 1 clinical trial of APD916

Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today the initiation of patient screening in a Phase 1 clinical trial of APD916, a novel oral drug candidate discovered by Arena that targets the histamine H3 receptor for the treatment of narcolepsy and cataplexy.

25 Mar 2010

Narcolepsy is indeed an autoimmune disorder, finds University of Lausanne study

Individuals with the sleep disorder narcolepsy suffer with excessive daytime sleepiness and attacks of muscle paralysis triggered by strong emotions (a condition known as cataplexy).

16 Feb 2010

Discovery of gene associated with narcolepsy

Scientists funded by the National Institutes of Health have identified a gene associated with narcolepsy, a disorder that causes disabling daytime sleepiness, sleep attacks, irresistible bouts of sleep that can strike at any time, and disturbed sleep at night. The gene has a known role in the immune system, which strongly suggests that autoimmunity, in which the immune system turns against the body's own tissues, plays an important role in the disorder.

3 May 2009

Treating sleep disorders in people with traumatic brain injury may not eliminate symptoms

A study in the April 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine is the first to assess the effectiveness of treating sleep disorders in adults with a traumatic brain injury (TBI).

15 Apr 2009

Genetic link found to sleep disorder narcolepsy

New genetic research may help explain the unusual and distressing sleep disorder narcolepsy.

29 Sep 2008