Pharmacological Aspects of Human and Canine Narcolepsy

Tomas Thorne

Basic

Last Updated: February 20, 2023

Pharmacological

Research Based

ResearchPeptides.org follows the strictest sourcing guidelines in the health and nootropics industry. Our focus is to exclusively link to peer-reviewed studies found on respected websites, like PubMed. We focus on finding the most accurate information from the scientific source.

Our goal is to provide you with the most scientifically accurate, unbiased, and comprehensive information regarding all research peptides and SARMs.

All of our content is written by people with a strong science background, including medical researchers.

Our content is continually monitored by an internal peer-review process to ensure accuracy. We strive to never have a piece of inaccurate information on this website.

If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate or out-of-date, please contact us at: [email protected]

ABSTRACT

Narcolepsy-cataplexy is a disabling neurological disorder that affects 1/2000 individuals. The main clinical features of narcolepsy, excessive daytime sleepiness and symptoms of abnormal REM sleep (cataplexy, sleep paralysis, hypnagogic hallucinations) are currently treated using amphetamine-like compounds or modafinil and antidepressants. Pharmacological research in the area is facilitated greatly by the existence of a canine model of the disorder. The mode of action of these compounds involves presynaptic activation of adrenergic transmission for the anticataplectic effects of antidepressant compounds and presynaptic activation of dopaminergic transmission for the EEG arousal effects of amphetamine-like stimulants. The mode of action of modafmil is still uncertain, and other neurochemical systems may offer interesting avenues for therapeutic development. Pharmacological and physiological studies using the canine model have identified primary neurochemical and neuroanatomical systems that underlie the expression of abnormal REM sleep and excessive sleepiness in narcolepsy. These involve mostly the pontine and basal forebrain cholinergic, the pontine adrenergic and the mesolimbic and mesocortical dopaminergic systems. These studies confirm a continuing need for basic research in both human and canine narcolepsy, and new treatments that act directly at the level of the primary defect in narcolepsy might be forthcoming.

References

Table of Contents
    Add a header to begin generating the table of contents