Narcolepsy: Clinical features, new pathophysiologic insights, and future perspectives

Narcolepsy is characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness and abnormal ma nifestations of rapid eye movement sleep such as cataplexy. The authors rev iew the clinical features of narcolepsy, including epidemiology, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment, in detail. Recent findings show that a loss of hy pocretin-producing neurons lies at the root of the signs and symptoms of na rcolepsy. The authors review the current state of knowledge on hypocretin a natomy, physiology, and function with special emphasis on the research rega rding the hypocretin deficiency in narcolepsy. which may also explain assoc iated features of the disorder, such as obesity. Lastly. they discuss some future perspectives for research into the pathophysiology of sleep/wake dis orders, and the potential impact of the established hypocretin deficiency o n the diagnosis and treatment of narcolepsy.