The cause of narcolepsy is not known; however, scientists have made progress toward identifying genes strongly associated with the disorder. These genes control the production of chemicals in the brain that may signal sleep and wake cycles. Some experts think narcolepsy may be due to a deficiency in the production of a chemical called hypocretin by the brain. In addition, researchers have discovered abnormalities in various parts of the brain involved in regulating REM sleep. These abnormalities apparently contribute to symptom development. According to experts, it is likely narcolepsy involves multiple factors that interact to cause neurological dysfunction and REM sleep disturbances. Many scientists all around the world are trying to figure out a cure for this disease. “Research indicates a possible association with exposure to the H1N1 virus (swine flu) and a certain form of H1N1 vaccine that's currently administered in Europe. It's not yet known if the virus directly triggers narcolepsy, or whether exposure to the virus increases the likelihood that someone will have …show more content…
The reason onto why this symptom could cause death is because the narcoleptic people could fall asleep anytime, while driving, eating, or even maybe is a very synthetic natural disaster. People with narcolepsy feel very sleepy during the day and may involuntarily fall asleep during normal activities. In narcolepsy, the normal boundary between awake and asleep is blurred, so the characteristics of sleeping can occur while a person is awake. For example, cataplexy is the muscle paralysis of REM sleep occurring during waking hours. It causes sudden loss of muscle tone that leads to a slack jaw, or weakness of the arms, legs, or trunk. People with narcolepsy can also experience dream-like hallucinations and paralysis as they are falling asleep or waking up, as well as disrupted nighttime sleep and vivid nightmares. Several people could be born with the disease known as narcolepsy and the signs and symptoms could be presented between the ages of 10 to 25. These signs and symptoms could be extreme daytime sleepiness, which indicates that when an individual has vigorous emotions. Ordinarily these emotions could be laughter, anger, joy, sadness, happiness, and disgust. People who experience daytime sleepiness can also experience mental cloudiness, or exhaustions, an arduous time focusing, and most of all depression. There is an abounding