Write a 7 page essay on An Evaluation of theories leading to cause Narcolepsy.Download file to see previous pages... Narcoleptic experiments have been conducted on dogs and mice have all shown results

Write a 7 page essay on An Evaluation of theories leading to cause Narcolepsy.

Narcoleptic experiments have been conducted on dogs and mice have all shown results pointing to an abnormality of a substance in the brain called hypocretin. This same result also showed up among humans. People that were diagnosed with Narcolepsy had low levels or no hypocretin cells at all and low levels or complete absence of hypocretin on cerebrospinal fluid (Black, 2005). Human leukocyte antigen or HLA is also being linked to the development of Narcolepsy on humans. HLAs are proteins found on the white blood cells that assist the body in fighting off external bacteria. There are evidences suggesting that the autoimmune system is attacking its own proteins. The result may lead to deficiency in the process of transmitting signals in the brain. However, this theory is yet to be proven. Compared to the past decades, these headways have been far more significant towards the understanding of Narcolepsy. However, the patterns and data being collected lack the consistency for any significant progress to be made preventing the development or curing an already developed narcolepsy. Narcolepsy has four common symptoms: excessive daytime sleepiness, cataplexy, sleep paralysis and hypnagogic hallucinations. ...

When one is under the NREM part, the whole body’s physical process slow down including pulse, metabolism, heartbeat, blood pressure, and brain wave activity. When the body goes into REM cycle begins, the brain becomes more active even when the whole body is still asleep. This was recorded using electroencephalograph (EEG). This is when people start dreaming. For healthy people, sleep actually begins in the NREM phase and it takes them an hour to go into the REM stage. After an hour or less, the body enters NREM and then REM, and so on (Chabas et al, 2003). During a narcoleptic sleep, the body doesn’t go into NREM. It goes straight into REM (Chabas et al, 2003) which makes the person sleep abruptly. Often, the person with the disease often don’t realise that they are about to sleep or they just fell asleep. Premature occurrence of REM is also related to cataplexy. Cataplexy is a type of paralysis or sudden weakness of muscles caused by extreme emotions such as anger, excitement or sadness. The person doesn’t exactly fall asleep but loses the ability to move. Some people find that only the limbs are affected but others actually lose the ability to movie their entire body. This stage can carry on for a couple of minutes (Black, 2005). This same symptom may happen when one just woke up. This is called Hypnagogic hallucinations. The paralysis happens before going to sleep or just as when a person is waking up. As the name indicates, the person experiences hallucinations including hearing sounds that were not even there. These episodes are vivid and it is not surprising for people to think the hallucinations are real (Chabas et al, 2003). Hypocretin Hypocretin, a.k.a.