Impaired histaminergic neurotransmission in children with narcolepsy type 1

摘要

ObjectiveNarcolepsy is a sleep disorder characterized in humans by excessive daytime sleepiness and cataplexy. Greater than fifty percent of narcoleptic patients have an onset of symptoms prior to the age of 18. Current general agreement considers the loss of hypothalamic hypocretin (orexin) neurons as the direct cause of narcolepsy notably cataplexy. To assess whether brain histamine (HA) is also involved, we quantified the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of HA and tele‐methylhistamine (t‐MeHA), the direct metabolite of HA between children with orexin‐deficient narcolepsy type 1 (NT1) and controls.