Narcolepsy is a long-term, rare brain disorder. This condition causes a person to fall asleep suddenly at inappropriate times. It does not have any long-term or serious health issues; however, it does impact a person’s everyday life and makes it difficult to cope with these problems emotionally.
The chemical in the brain that is known to regulate sleep is known as hypocretin. Most cases of narcolepsy are caused due to the lack of the same. This deficiency is mainly caused due to the immune system mistakenly attacking parts of the brain that are responsible for the production of hypocretin. Apart from the lack of hypocretin, there are other causes of narcolepsy as well and these are:
- Problems in the immune system
Antibodies are released by the body o destroy the organisms and toxins that carry disease. When the antibodies mistake healthy tissues and cells as a threat, it is known as the autoimmune response of the body. It was found that people who have been diagnosed with narcolepsy produce antibodies against a protein called trib 2. Trib 2 is produced by the same area of the brain that is responsible for the production of hypocretin. Since hypocretin is responsible for arousal, wakefulness, and appetite, a lack of hypocretin means the brain is not able to regulate sleep cycles like usual. - Pandemrix vaccine
A link between the use of the flu vaccine, Pandemrix and narcolepsy has been found. Pandemrix was the vaccine that was used during the swine flu epidemic of 2009-10. The risk involved in this link is minimal. Pieces of researches have estimated a minor chance of developing narcolepsy after the consumption of this vaccine. Also, Pandemrix is no longer given to people below the age of 20 after this research.
Other possible triggers
There are a number of factors that may increase the risk of narcolepsy in a person or cause an autoimmune problem. Some of these possible triggers are-
- Hormonal changes that occur during puberty or menopause
- A sudden change in sleeping pattern
- Major psychological stress and issues
- An inherited genetic fault
- An infection like streptococcal infection or swine flu
The total time that a person diagnosed with narcolepsy spends sleeping may not be necessarily different from people who don’t have this condition. Even though the duration might be the same, the sleep cycle and the quality of sleep is decreased. Sleep consists of cycles of different brain activities known as rapid eye movement (REM) and non-rapid eye moment (NREM). The brain activities increases and dreams occur during the REM sleep. During a normal sleeping pattern, first are the three stages of NREM sleep, then followed by a short period of REM sleep. Then, throughout the night, NREM and REM sleep alternates throughout the night. During the latter part of the night, REM sleep is more prominent in the pattern. If one has been diagnosed with narcolepsy, this pattern becomes more fragmented and one ends up waking up several times during the day. After falling asleep, one may experience REM sleep much earlier than usual. Some may experience after-effects of REM sleep like paralysis and dreaming even when they are conscious.
