Singapore, Sept 29, 2008: Researchers from the University of Tokyo, Japan have discovered genes that may trigger narcolepsy, a disorder that causes drowsiness during the day.

 

Prof Katsushi Tokunaga at the University of Tokyo and his research team announced their finding in the online edition of the science magazine Nature Genetics.

 

The research team analyzed and compared the genome of narcolepsy patients and healthy people and found a determinant that is most relevant to the development of narcolepsy. In particular, a person with a base called cytosine instead of thymine is 1.8 times more likely to develop narcolepsy.

 

Researchers have also studied two types of genes that control sound sleep and brain activity and found it is likely that a person with cytosine suffers from a decreased function of the two types of genes, leading to the development of narcolepsy.

 

Currently, there are an estimated 200,000 narcoleptic patients in Japan. The exact cause of the disorder is yet to be known, and the patients are only treated symptomatically.

 

"If we can develop a substance that complements the function of gene protein, it could serve as a new medicine to cure the ailment," said a research team member.