0770 <Olfactory Disorders In Individuals With Diagnosis Of Narcolepsy>

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder characterized mainly by excessive daytime sleepiness, cataplexy, sleep paralysis, hypnagogic-hypnopompic hallucinations and sleep fragmentation. Besides those most known manifestations, other findings may be present in patients with narcolepsy, such as weight gain, reduction in eating satiety and psychological alterations. It is also observed that part of the hypocretin-producing cells projections are present in the olfactory bulb, and the conditions appears to be related to changes in olfaction. Methods a cross sectional study was performed in patients diagnosed with narcolepsy followed up by the excessive daytime sleepiness outpatient clinic of the discipline o Sleep Biology and Medicine of the Department of Psychobiology of the Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil. Olfaction was assessed by the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) following an interview and nasal cavity examination. Patients with conditions and disorders that may cause hyposmia were excluded. Results 77 patients were assessed, of which 56 had type-1 narcolepsy and 21 with type-2 narcolepsy. The results were compared with the test’s reference data. Most patients with type-1 and type-2 narcolepsy presented scores compatible with some degree of olfactory impairment. No significant difference was observed between the scores of patients with type-1 and type-2 narcolepsy. Conclusion The present study shows most patients with narcolepsy have some degree of olfactory impairment. This impairment doesn’t appear to be explained by alterations in the hypocretineric cells as pointed out in previous studies. The changes in olfaction in people with narcolepsy may cause the satiety alterations often observed in them. Other mechanisms involved with the genesis of hyposmia in those patients should be studied further. Support AFIP - Associação Fundo de Incentivo à Pesquisa