Hypocretin (orexin) cell loss in Parkinson’s disease

TitleHypocretin (orexin) cell loss in Parkinson’s disease
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2007
AuthorsThannickal, TC, Lai Y-Y, Siegel JM
JournalBrain
Start Page1586
Issue130
Date Published03/2007
KeywordsHypocretin, melanin concentrating hormone, narcolepsy, orexin, Parkinson, sleep
Abstract

It has recently been reported that Parkinson’s disease (PD) is preceded and accompanied by daytime sleep attacks, nocturnal insomnia, REM sleep behaviour disorder, hallucinations and depression, symptoms which are frequently as troublesome as the motor symptoms of PD. All these symptoms are present in narcolepsy, which is linked to a selective loss of hypocretin (Hcrt) neurons. In this study, the Hcrt system was examined to determine if Hcrt cells are damaged in PD. The hypothalamus of 11 PD (mean age 79