10.2.07

narcolepsy (dog-tired)

["Narcolepsy is a neurological condition most characterized by Excessive Daytime Sleepiness (EDS). A narcoleptic will most likely experience disturbed nocturnal sleep, confused with insomnia, and disorder of REM or rapid eye movement sleep. It is a type of dyssomnia."]

There are medications and certain behavioral therapies (including the strategy of taking controlled naps) that are used to help effectively control this disorder. Narcolepsy is, however, often left undiagnosed, and the signs of the disease are many times misunderstood by parents and teachers.

It has been known for some time that certain mutations in the hypocretin gene is what causes narcolepsy in dogs. If you'd like to learn more about the genetics responsible for narcolepsy, this report from Nature Medicine is quite interesting - it shows that such mutations are also seen in humans. I learned more about this common disorder in one of my neurobiology classes, and I think part of why I remember the etiology so well is because of the following clinical case:

(And so, without further ado, I present Rusty, the narcoleptic dachshund.)

1 comment:

marissa said...

poor rusty. this is great. made my day - I guess I'm a sucker for narcoleptic dachsunds.