2023-08-29 19:19:00
The Reference Center for Narcolepsy and Rare Hypersomnia is currently conducting research on a treatment for narcolepsy. Even if it had to be initially interrupted because of side effects, the French researchers say they are “optimistic”.
Hope in the face of a disease that affects nearly 20,000 people in France. A study conducted by the Reference Center for Rare Narcolepsy and Hypersomnia – which brings together Inserm and the University and University Hospital of Montpellier – has delivered promising initial results in the treatment of narcolepsy, Inserm reported on Tuesday in a statement.
This disease, which causes drowsiness, weight gain, hallucinations or even sleep paralysis, generally occurs between the ages of 15 and 20 and no reliable treatment has yet been developed to combat it.
Patients who feel cured
In works published in the New England Journal of MedicineFrench researchers have tested a treatment, developed by the Takeda laboratory and given to patients in oral form, preventing the destruction of neurons, the main cause of the disease.
“We did not have a simple improvement in symptoms, for the first time, the patients simply felt cured”, rejoiced Yves Dauvilliers, director of research.
The first clinical trial, however, had to be stopped due to hepatic side effects in some patients. But work has been underway for several months on a similar, more effective molecule, which “would have fewer side effects”.
Even if the results will have to wait for validation by peers and should not be available to the public for at least a year, Yves Dauvilliers is betting a lot on the effectiveness of the new molecule. “I’m optimistic because the discovery is absolutely brilliant. We have a super promising new mechanism of action,” he told BFMTV.com.
In the meantime, the authorities insist on the importance of screening, which is too “trivialized”. “You have to understand that sleeping in class when you’re young can reveal an underlying disease, Yves Dauvilliers said in the press release. Today, on average, it takes eight years to diagnose narcolepsy, and only a third of patients have a diagnosis, it’s really too little.”
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