Narcolepsy News and Research

RSS

Narcolepsy is a chronic sleep disorder, or dyssomnia. The condition is characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) in which a person experiences extreme fatigue and possibly falls asleep at inappropriate times, such as while at work or at school.

Narcolepsy bears trademarks of classic autoimmune disorder

Narcoleptics suffer from bouts of sleepiness and sleep attacks, which impair their ability to function in daily life. But the precise cause of narcolepsy has long eluded scientists, and the cure for the devastating neurological disorder afflicting an estimated three million people worldwide -- and one in 3,000 Americans -- remains at bay.

10 Mar 2015

Adolescents experience excessive daytime sleepiness due to marijuana use

A study published recently by researchers from Nationwide Children's Hospital, found 10 percent of adolescents sent to a Sleep Center for evaluation of excessive daytime sleepiness with testing results consistent with narcolepsy had urine drug screens positive for marijuana, confounding the results.

16 Feb 2015

Merck announces US availability of BELSOMRA (suvorexant) for treatment of insomnia

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced that BELSOMRA (suvorexant) is now available at pharmacies in the United States for the treatment of insomnia in adults who have difficulty falling asleep and/or staying asleep.

4 Feb 2015

Protein that awakens brain from sleep may fight against Alzheimer's disease

A protein that stimulates the brain to awaken from sleep may be a target for preventing Alzheimer's disease, a study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests.

25 Nov 2014

MGH investigators develop system to accurately track the process of falling asleep

Massachusetts General Hospital investigators have developed a system to accurately track the dynamic process of falling asleep, something has not been possible with existing techniques. In their report in the October issue of the open-access journal PLOS Computational Biology, the research team describes how combining key physiologic measurements with a behavioral task that does not interfere with sleep onset gives a better picture of the gradual process of falling asleep.

21 Nov 2014

FDA approves BELSOMRA® (suvorexant) for the treatment of insomnia

Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved BELSOMRA® (suvorexant) for adults with insomnia who have difficulty falling asleep and/or staying asleep. BELSOMRA (pronounced bell-SOM-rah) is a highly selective antagonist for orexin receptors.

15 Aug 2014

Proteins causing daytime sleepiness also play crucial role in bone formation

Orexin proteins, which are blamed for spontaneous daytime sleepiness, also play a crucial role in bone formation, according to findings by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers.

13 Jun 2014

Jazz Pharmaceuticals' JZP-110 improves symptoms of EDS in adults with narcolepsy

Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc today presented data from the Phase 2b study evaluating JZP-110 (formerly known as ADX-N05) as a potential new treatment for the symptoms of excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) in adults with narcolepsy.

3 Jun 2014

Actavis signs deal with Cephalon to settle patent litigation related to Nuvigil tablets

Actavis plc today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Cephalon, Inc. to settle all outstanding patent litigation related to Actavis' generic version of Nuvigil® (armodafinil tablets, 50 mg, 100 mg, 150 mg, 200 mg and 250 mg).

31 May 2014

Smart drugs have lasting side-effects on young people's brain

Over a million American students misuse prescription drugs or take illegal stimulants to increase their attention span, memory, and capacity to stay awake. Such "smart drugs" become more and more popular due to peer pressure, stricter academic requirements, and the tight job market. But young people who misuse them risk long-term impairments to brain function, warn Kimberly Urban at the University of Delaware and Wen-Jun Gao at Drexel University College of Medicine, USA, in a NIH-funded review published in the open-access journal Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience.

14 May 2014

Form of baclofen works better at treating narcolepsy

Neuroscientists at SRI International have found that a form of baclofen, a drug used to treat muscle spasticity, works better at treating narcolepsy than the best drug currently available when tested in mice.

8 May 2014

Concert Pharmaceuticals announces 2013 year-end results; posts record revenue of $25.4M

Concert Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported financial results for the year ended December 31, 2013 and provided an update on corporate activities.

31 Mar 2014

Jazz Pharmaceuticals' Versacloz now commercially available in the U.S. for schizophrenia

Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc today announced U.S. commercial availability of Versacloz (clozapine, USP) oral suspension, the first and only oral suspension clozapine for severely ill treatment-resistant schizophrenia patients or those at risk of recurrent suicidal behavior with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.

11 Feb 2014

Swedish study confirms H1N1 vaccinations show increased risk of narcolepsy in children, adolescents

Pandemrix is an influenza vaccination, created in 2009 to combat H1N1, known as Swine Flu. Now, a team of Swedish clinicians testing the vaccine for links to immune-related or neurological diseases have linked Pandemrix to an increased risk of narcolepsy in young adults.

21 Jan 2014

Apple Valley Medical Clinic Sleep Center moves to 14843 Energy Way in Apple Valley

The Apple Valley Medical Clinic's Sleep Center has moved to 14843 Energy Way in Apple Valley. The center, which opened in 2010 under the medical direction of Scott Benson, M.D., a family medicine physician with the Apple Valley Medical Clinic, offers preventive care, diagnosis and referral for treatment of sleep disorders.

3 Jan 2014

Study finds extraordinary link between narcolepsy and specific gene variant

A new study conducted across Europe found an extraordinary association between narcolepsy and a specific gene variant related to the immune system.

2 Jan 2014

Autoimmune clue to narcolepsy

Researchers have identified immune cells in patients with narcolepsy that react against hypocretin, the lack of which causes the disorder.

20 Dec 2013

Jazz Pharmaceuticals announces third quarter financial results and updated 2013 guidance

Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc (Nasdaq: JAZZ) today announced financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2013 and updated 2013 financial guidance.

6 Nov 2013

Screening tool shows promise for Parkinson’s sleep disturbance

Researchers have developed a sleep questionnaire for screening the range of sleep disturbances experienced by patients with Parkinson’s disease.

21 Oct 2013

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