Will the discovery of hypocretin deficiency in narcolepsy lead quickly to a cure?

The answer is probably no. Even so we have now discovered that not to have hypocretin causes narcolepsy, this does not mean we will be able to reverse the process. Recent studies in postmortem brain tissue indicate that the hypothalamic cells that secrete the hypocretins are destroyed in most human patients.

The HLA association in narcolepsy suggests that maybe the immune system destroys the cells that secrete hypocretins early in adolescence. In this case, narcolepsy would be very similar to HLA associated juvenile onset insulin dependent diabetes mellitus where the immune system destroys the pancreatic cells that synthesize insulin. In this condition, it is possible to replace insulin to alleviate the symptoms but obviously it does not replace the missing insulin producing cells so it is not a long term cure.

A cure for narcolepsy may rather involve new breakthroughs, for example transplanting cells that could produce hypocretins in the brain. These protocols are explored in other ... more.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.