Exploring the cytokine and endocrine involvement in narcolepsy.

Narcolepsy is a disabling neurological sleep disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness and abnormal REM sleep manifestations. Recently, the role of cytokines and growth hormone in the regulation of sleep and narcolepsy has been considered, and data suggest that proinflammatory cytokines may be involved in sleep and narcoleptic symptoms. Serum and clinical data were obtained from the Stanford Center for Narcolepsy Research for 39 Narcoleptics (22 Females, 17 Males, age 39+/-14.9) and 40 controls (13 Females, 27 Males, age 46+/-17.9). Plasma levels of TNF-alpha, IL-6, and human growth hormone (hGH) were measured by ELISA. TNF-alpha and IL-6 were significantly increased in narcoleptic subjects compared to controls (p=.001). Interestingly, hGH was significantly increased in narcoleptic subjects (p <.0001). There was also a significant difference in the epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) (17.7+/-4.6 vs. 5.5+/-3.2, p <.0001). These data indicate that narcoleptics, relative to controls, had higher serum levels of TNF-alpha, IL-6, and hGH. These data suggest that the dysregulation of sleep observed in narcoleptics correlates with the immune and endocrine dysregulation seen in these subjects, and the observed changes may in fact contribute to the higher likelihood of disturbed sleep and/or increased incidence of infection. Additional work is required to fully characterize connections between cytokines and narcoleptic symptomatology.