to Narcolepsy, the immune system goes out of whack and accidentally destroys brain cells that are crucial to keeping the body alert.
The authors also suggested that high-resolution genotyping, a process in which an individual’s DNA is examined, might aid in diagnosing patients suspected of having narcolepsy.
According to a University of California San Francisco study, researchers initially studied more than 1,800 Caucasians. All had the previously identified HLA gene variant. More than 800 had Narcolepsy, but the rest did not.
The researchers identified a nearly twofold elevated risk for narcolepsy associated with variations in a gene that encodes a protein called T-cell receptor alpha. They confirmed their initial findings in additional studies of Caucasians, Asians and African Americans. Researchers had previously suspected a role for T-cell receptor variants in autoimmune diseases and had searched for associations, but this is the first time one has emerged from such a study.
“This is a disease that nobody suspected was autoimmune until a very strong association with HLA was identified,” Risch says. “That was shocking — as is this new finding.”
Find out more information on Narcolepsy here, on BlackDoctor.org.
SOURCE: American Academy of Sleep Medicine, news release, Jan. 2, 2014; University of California San Francisco, news release, May 18, 2009