Almorexant promotes sleep and exacerbates cataplexy in a murine model of narcolepsy.

ABSTRACT:

Study objectives

Humans with narcolepsy and orexin/ataxin-3 transgenic (TG) mice exhibit extensive, but incomplete, degeneration of hypo-cretin (Hcrt) neurons. Partial Hcrt cell loss also occurs in Parkinson disease and other neurologic conditions. Whether Hcrt antagonists such as almorexant (ALM) can exert an effect on the Hcrt that remains after Hcrt neurodegeneration has not yet been determined. The current study was designed to evaluate the hypnotic and cataplexy-inducing efficacy of a Hcrt antagonist in an animal model with low Hcrt tone and compare the ALM efficacy profile in the disease model to that produced in wild-type (WT) control animals.

Design

Counterbalanced crossover study.

Setting

Home cage.

Patients or participants

Nine TG mice and 10 WT mice.

SUBMITTER: Black SW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3571748 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature