Abstract
Narcolepsy is a disease resulting from the loss of hypocretin-producing cells or other dysfunctions of the hypocretinergic system. In addition to sleep disorders, affected patients may experience increased weight gain, olfactory changes, and poorer quality of life. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between narcolepsy and weight gain, years of study, sleep parameters, and olfactory dysfunction in patients with narcolepsy type 1 and narcolepsy type 2. Anthropometric, olfactory, socioeducational, and excessive daytime sleepiness evaluations were performed in 77 patients. Greater weight gain and abdominal obesity were observed in patients with type 1 narcolepsy. Patients with higher education level had lower scores of daytime sleepiness, higher scores on the olfactory function test, and lower rates of abdominal obesity. Patients with narcolepsy type 1 showed an increased body weight and abdominal obesity when compared to narcolepsy type 2. The patients with a higher schooling level showed a reduction of the daytime sleepiness scores, lower rates of abdominal obesity, and better scores on the olfactory function test. Among all the patients with narcolepsy, the data indicated that aging and hypocretin deficiency are associated with abdominal obesity, while years of study is the variable that mostly influences olfaction function.
Highlights
Narcolepsy is an autoimmune disease that causes excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS)
The version of the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) that was used in our study was standardized for the Portuguese language and adapted for the Brazilian culture
We found that patients with NT1 had a significantly higher body mass index (BMI) compared with patients with NT2; the median BMI value of NT1 was higher than the cut off point for obesity, while the BMI of the NT2 group was within the cut off points
Summary
Narcolepsy is an autoimmune disease that causes excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS). The affected individuals may present cataplexy, hypnagogic and/or hypnopompic hallucinations, sleep fragmentation, and sleep paralysis. For the diagnosis of narcolepsy, the results needed are a mean sleep latency of up to 8 minutes and two or more sleep onset REM periods (SOREMPS) in the MSLT. In patients with clinical manifestations, in addition to electrophysiological tests, hypocretin levels (Hcrt-1) can be measured in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). In addition to sleep disorders, affected patients may experience increased weight gain, olfactory changes, and poorer quality of life. Results: Greater weight gain and abdominal obesity were observed in patients with type 1 narcolepsy. Patients with higher education level had lower scores of daytime sleepiness, higher scores on the olfactory function test, and lower rates of abdominal obesity. The patients with a higher schooling level showed a reduction of the daytime sleepiness scores, lower rates of abdominal obesity, and better scores on the olfactory function test. Conclusion: Among all the patients with narcolepsy, the data indicated that aging and hypocretin deficiency are associated with abdominal obesity, while years of study is the variable that mostly influences olfaction function
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