2001•Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical LiteratureRequires access
Faculty Opinions recommendation of Normal plasma levels of orexin A (hypocretin-1) in narcoleptic patients.
Angela Vincent
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Abstract
Deficient orexin signaling has been shown to cause narcolepsy-like conditions in animals. In human narcolepsy, CSF levels of orexin A (hypocretin-1) were reported to be low in most cases. The authors measured CSF and plasma orexin A levels in patients with narcolepsy and in controls. Confirming earlier studies, they found CSF orexin A levels to be extremely low in patients with narcolepsy. However, plasma orexin A levels did not differ from those observed in controls. These results suggest that orexin deficiency in patients with narcolepsy is a phenomena restricted to the CNS. PMID: 11425946