0000000000617922
AUTHOR
Stefan Wieczorek
TNFA promoter polymorphisms and narcolepsy
Narcolepsy is a debilitating sleep disorder that affects up to 0.05% of individuals in Caucasian populations. It is highly associated with the HLA-DR2 group antigen or the HLA-DRB1*1501-DQB1*0602 haplotype, respectively. However, the HLA association by itself cannot sufficiently explain the increased risk to family members, as HLA-DR2 is quite common in the general population and most people harboring the respective genotype do not develop any symptoms of narcolepsy. Situated in the HLA class II region, the TNFA gene is translated into the pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-alpha. TNFA promoter polymorphisms have been linked to several inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. We analyzed three SNP …
Increased Frequency of Migraine in Narcoleptic Patients: A Confirmatory Study
Previously we have reported an increased prevalence of migraine in narcoleptic patients. Because of the theoretical and clinical implications of this finding we recruited an independent new study sample of 100 patients with proven narcolepsy and conducted a structured 26-item interview based on the international diagnostic criteria for headache disorders, the Kiel Headache Questionnaire. Narcolepsy symptoms were measured by means of the Stanford Centre for Narcolepsy Sleep Inventory. Migraine prevalence was twofold to fourfold increased in the narcoleptic patients and amounted to 44.4% in women and 28.3% in men. The onset of narcolepsy symptoms was 12.3 ± 11.4 years before the onset of mig…