How is narcolepsy caused?

How is narcolepsy caused?

Irshaad Ebrahim (Medical Director of The London Sleep Centre) gives expert video advice on: What is narcolepsy?; How is narcolepsy caused?; How many people suffer from narcolepsy? and more...

Narcolepsy is caused by a deficiency of a protein or hormone in the brain, and the name of this protein or hormone is orexin, or it is also known by another name, hypocretin. This hormone is usually found in a part of the brain called the hypothalamus. In patients with narcolepsy, this part of the hypothalamus is found to be damaged and none of this hormone is manufactured. As a result, these people develop symptoms of excessive daytime sleepiness, cataplexy, hypnagogic hallucinations, and sleep paralysis.