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The Hypocretin System and Sleepiness in Parkinson’s Disease

Techniques to Assess Hypocretin Functioning in a Neurodegenerative Disorder Other Than Narcolepsy

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Narcolepsy

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Abstract

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder with prominent motor symptoms, such as rigidity, tremor and hypokinesia. Although the motor symptoms are the most prominent features in many PD patients, there are many non-motor symptoms as well. Sleep–wake disturbances belong to the most striking non-motor symptoms. During the day, excessive daytime sleepiness with frequent naps and so-called “sleep-attacks” have been reported in 15–50% of patients, as well as daytime sleep onset REM periods. These symptoms share many characteristics with the symptoms of narcolepsy. In post-mortem PD brains, the hypocretin-1 concentration in the prefrontal cortex was almost 40% lower, while ventricular cerebrospinal fluid levels were almost 25% reduced. The total number of hypocretin neurons was 50–74% reduced compared to controls. This evidence proves that the disease process in PD also affects the hypothalamic hypocretin system. It is now important to establish the correlation between hypocretin impairment and the occurrence of the various sleep disturbances.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands

    R. Fronczek

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  1. R. Fronczek
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Correspondence to R. Fronczek .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Zurich, Frauenklinikstrasse 26, Zurich, 8091, Switzerland

    Christian R. Baumann

  2. Neurocenter EOC of Southern Switzerland, Department of Neurology, University Hospital Zurich, Via Tesserete 46, Lugano, 6903, Switzerland

    Claudio L. Bassetti

  3. and Harvard Medical School, Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 330 Brookline Ave, Boston, 02215, Massachusetts, USA

    Thomas E. Scammell

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Fronczek, R. (2011). The Hypocretin System and Sleepiness in Parkinson’s Disease. In: Baumann, C., Bassetti, C., Scammell, T. (eds) Narcolepsy. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8390-9_32

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8390-9_32

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