Narcolepsy Type 1: What have we learned from genetics?

Type-1 narcolepsy is a severe neurological disorder with distinct characteristic of loss of hypocretin neurotransmitter. Genetic analysis in type-1 narcolepsy have revealed a unique signal pointing towards autoimmune, rather than psychiatric origin. While type-1 narcolepsy has been intensively studied the other sub types of hypersomnolence, narcolepsy and hypersomnia are less thoroughly understood. This review summarizes the latest breakthroughs in the field in narcolepsy. The goal of this paper is to help the reader to understand better the risk from genetic factors and their interplay with immune, genetic and epidemiological aspects in narcolepsy.