JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association,
Sep 11, 1996 v276 n10 p65 (2)
Narcolepsy researchers barking up the right
tree. Lynne Lamberg
New evidence for heritibility of Narcolepsy. The
Doberman's narcolepsy is a recessive trait. Canine narcolepsy is linked
to the human immunoglobin switch gene. The immune system has a role
in narcolepsy. But, 98% of Narcoleptic have the DBQ1*0602 allele and
25% of the population also have this allele. Thus DBQ1 alone does not
produce narcolepsy. Only 20% of monozygotic twins both suffer from narcolepsy.
This pulls focus away from genetics, environmental cues also have a role.
The new drug modafinil is one of the first nonamphetamine to have
positive results the first drug to be approved by the FDA to fight narcolepsy
in 40 years