8 ms·

>narcolepsy is an autoimmune disorder in which some 70,000 orexin-producing neurons in the hypothalamus are destroyed by the body’s own immune system. TIL

sitkack 4y ago
I wonder if Autism is also an autoimmune disorder? Or, I wonder what other diseases are autoimmune in nature? But autoimmune diseases that attack the brain or nervous system (Parkinsons?) seem like a very interesting avenue of research.
- colechristensen 4y ago
  Autism is one of those diseases which is probably several. A cluster of symptoms which is caused by a small collection of differently or diminished functions in a set of brain systems and that altered function would be further caused by a few separate things, genetic, development environment, autoimmune, and or infection. Sort of three layers of how it presents, the brain differences that directly cause the presentation, and the underlying mechanistic causes of those differences.
- dd36 4y ago
  Autism exploded when Back to Sleep exploded for babies. For a good chunk of babies (and their parents), forced back sleeping is hugely disruptive to sleep. So much so that the only way anyone gets rest is belly sleep on top of a parent. Sleep is important to brain development. Until proven otherwise, my hypothesis is we’re accidentally causing the spike in autism with forced back sleeping. There are studies that indirectly support this but I’m not sure of any direct studies. What got me on this path was my own son. From the time he was only a few weeks, he wouldn’t sleep for more than a few hours on his back but on his belly would sleep the whole night. The nurses in the NICU put all the babies on their tummies to get them to sleep. We threw out the doctor’s advice and tummy slept him with good air circulation and were far better off than many friends who thought their baby would die if tummy slept. Everyone before 1994 was tummy slept. What convinced me to try it was watching the nurses, reading a study on air circulation and SIDS, and that he slept great on top of me tummy down.
  - josiahpeters 4y ago
    We just had our third and this comment has tickled my interest. Do you have an example of any studies that indirectly support this? I agree that good sleep is more critical than people realize.
    - dd36 4y ago
      https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/380273 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/... So in this study, a fan reduced SIDS as much as forced back sleeping. Again, the point is they don’t know why backsleeping reduces SIDS. One theory is it puts the baby’s face higher up. The fan seems to support this. I’d be curious to interview parents of kids with autism and see how militant they were about back sleep and if their kid slept well. Some kids seeming don’t mind backsleeping but others hate it. And you can tell by simply letting them tummy sleep for a night or two and seeing if they sleep longer. If this hypothesis does pan out, it’s not unlike doctors advice to avoid peanuts leading to a huge increase in peanut allergies. Only for them to later say, whoops.
  - welder 4y ago
    SIDS was recently found to be lack of some enzyme, not related to tummy down sleeping. [1] So you're probably right that babies should sleep however they do naturally which I've noticed with my kids was with legs tucked and belly down. [1] https://www.premierhealth.com/your-health/articles/healthnow/study-uncovers-promising-sids-breakthrough https://www.premierhealth.com/your-health/articles/healthnow...
    - vosper 4y ago
      That’s not what your article or the actual researchers say. You’ve extrapolated from “possible link that needs verification” to “cause” which is potentially incredibly dangerous for babies. > While scientists continue their research, Dr. Belcastro recommends that you and caregivers for your baby faithfully follow safe sleep guidelines to minimize the risk of SIDS. These precautions are especially important from ages one to six months, when babies cannot roll themselves over: > Place your baby on his back to sleep – not on his side or stomach.
hi_herbert 4y ago
Those sentences are very antiscience. It is obvious there can be multiple distinct causes to narcolepsy. The % of narcoleptics because of an orexin deficit is the interesting unanswered question. Also this further legitimate orexin agonists such as afinils. However a mere deficit of orexin only explain chronic fatigue during day time. It does not explain at all sleep architecture deficits or irregularities.

sitkack 4y ago

I wonder if Autism is also an autoimmune disorder? Or, I wonder what other diseases are autoimmune in nature? But autoimmune diseases that attack the brain or nervous system (Parkinsons?) seem like a very interesting avenue of research.

colechristensen 4y ago
Autism is one of those diseases which is probably several. A cluster of symptoms which is caused by a small collection of differently or diminished functions in a set of brain systems and that altered function would be further caused by a few separate things, genetic, development environment, autoimmune, and or infection. Sort of three layers of how it presents, the brain differences that directly cause the presentation, and the underlying mechanistic causes of those differences.
dd36 4y ago
Autism exploded when Back to Sleep exploded for babies. For a good chunk of babies (and their parents), forced back sleeping is hugely disruptive to sleep. So much so that the only way anyone gets rest is belly sleep on top of a parent. Sleep is important to brain development. Until proven otherwise, my hypothesis is we’re accidentally causing the spike in autism with forced back sleeping. There are studies that indirectly support this but I’m not sure of any direct studies. What got me on this path was my own son. From the time he was only a few weeks, he wouldn’t sleep for more than a few hours on his back but on his belly would sleep the whole night. The nurses in the NICU put all the babies on their tummies to get them to sleep. We threw out the doctor’s advice and tummy slept him with good air circulation and were far better off than many friends who thought their baby would die if tummy slept. Everyone before 1994 was tummy slept. What convinced me to try it was watching the nurses, reading a study on air circulation and SIDS, and that he slept great on top of me tummy down.
- josiahpeters 4y ago
  We just had our third and this comment has tickled my interest. Do you have an example of any studies that indirectly support this? I agree that good sleep is more critical than people realize.
  - dd36 4y ago
    https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/380273 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/... So in this study, a fan reduced SIDS as much as forced back sleeping. Again, the point is they don’t know why backsleeping reduces SIDS. One theory is it puts the baby’s face higher up. The fan seems to support this. I’d be curious to interview parents of kids with autism and see how militant they were about back sleep and if their kid slept well. Some kids seeming don’t mind backsleeping but others hate it. And you can tell by simply letting them tummy sleep for a night or two and seeing if they sleep longer. If this hypothesis does pan out, it’s not unlike doctors advice to avoid peanuts leading to a huge increase in peanut allergies. Only for them to later say, whoops.
- welder 4y ago
  SIDS was recently found to be lack of some enzyme, not related to tummy down sleeping. [1] So you're probably right that babies should sleep however they do naturally which I've noticed with my kids was with legs tucked and belly down. [1] https://www.premierhealth.com/your-health/articles/healthnow/study-uncovers-promising-sids-breakthrough https://www.premierhealth.com/your-health/articles/healthnow...
  - vosper 4y ago
    That’s not what your article or the actual researchers say. You’ve extrapolated from “possible link that needs verification” to “cause” which is potentially incredibly dangerous for babies. > While scientists continue their research, Dr. Belcastro recommends that you and caregivers for your baby faithfully follow safe sleep guidelines to minimize the risk of SIDS. These precautions are especially important from ages one to six months, when babies cannot roll themselves over: > Place your baby on his back to sleep – not on his side or stomach.

hi_herbert 4y ago

Those sentences are very antiscience. It is obvious there can be multiple distinct causes to narcolepsy. The % of narcoleptics because of an orexin deficit is the interesting unanswered question. Also this further legitimate orexin agonists such as afinils. However a mere deficit of orexin only explain chronic fatigue during day time. It does not explain at all sleep architecture deficits or irregularities.