SomnusNooze e-newsletter
News, stories and updates from the world of sleep
SomnusNooze topics: Journal article summaries
What Does One SOREMP Mean?
Background The primary feature of the two main central disorders of hypersomnolence—narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia (IH)—is excessive daytime sleepiness, defined in the International Classification of Sleep Disorders, third edition,... read >
Summary of Rationale Behind and Research Studies into L-carnitine as a Treatment for Narcolepsy
Background In this 2013 study published in PLoS One, the researchers Miyagawa et al hypothesized that L-carnitine supplementation might help improve narcolepsy symptoms by increasing β-fatty-acid oxidation. Fatty acids are a major energy source for... read >
A Comparison of Sodium Oxybate in the Treatment of Idiopathic Hypersomnia and Narcolepsy Type 1
Background Sodium oxybate (SXB) is a drug sold as Xyrem in the United States by Jazz Pharmaceuticals, in Europe by UCB Pharma, and in Canada by Valeant Pharmaceuticals. It is approved in the United States in adults for the treatment of excessive daytime... read >
ADHD Symptoms in Children with Narcolepsy
Background Compared with adults with narcolepsy, children with narcolepsy often have higher levels of excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), are more likely to have cataplexy without a trigger, and are more likely to have a secondary form of narcolepsy. The... read >
Does Excessive Daytime Sleepiness Affect Children’s Pedestrian Safety?
Background Each year, approximately 30,000 children are unintentionally killed or injured while walking outside (typically within a half mile of their homes). Many factors—including children’s thinking and reasoning abilities, attention spans,... read >
GABA and Histamine Work Together to Control Wakefulness
New research on genetically altered mice helps to untangle the complex interactions of GABA with brain systems necessary for sustaining wakefulness. Histamine Nerve cells (also known as neurons) in a specific part of the brain, called the... read >
Antibiotic May Decrease EDS in GABA-Related Hypersomnia
A study of clarithromycin in the treatment of GABA-related hypersomnia indicates that this drug may be effective in some patients with idiopathic hypersomnia (IH), narcolepsy without cataplexy, and subjective hypersomnia. Background The US Food and... read >
It’s a Fine Line Between Type 2 Narcolepsy and Idiopathic Hypersomnia… and It’s Getting Even Finer
Researchers have provided more evidence that narcolepsy without cataplexy (Nw/oC ) and idiopathic hypersomnia (IH) without long sleep time (LST) look more alike on testing than do narcolepsy with cataplexy (NwC) and Nw/oC. This research was completed... read >
Continuing to Unravel the Genetic Mystery of Narcolepsy
Dr. Toyoda and his colleagues in Japan have described new susceptibility genes — CCR1 and CCR3 — for type 1 narcolepsy. Background Type 1 narcolepsy (also called narcolepsy with cataplexy) is believed to be the result of a combination of genetic and... read >
New Findings in a Large Well-defined Group of People with KLS
Background Kleine Levin syndrome (KLS) is a neuropsychiatric disease that affects about 1 in a million people. Symptoms include hypersomnia, confusion, derealization, hypersexuality, megaphagia, altered mood, and hallucinations that occur during... read >