Hope in the face of a disease that affects almost 20,000 people in France. A study carried out by the Reference Center for Rare Narcolepsy and Hypersomnia, which brings together Inserm and the Montpellier University and University Hospital, has yielded initial promising results in the treatment of narcolepsy, Inserm reported 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 administered to patients orally, which prevents the destruction of neurons, the main cause of the disease.
“We have not had a simple improvement of the symptoms; for the first time, the patients simply felt cured”, is pleased Yves Dauvilliers, director of the research.
However, the first clinical trial had to be stopped due to liver side effects in some patients. But for several months they have been working on a similar, more effective molecule that “would have fewer side effects.”
Although the results will have to wait for validation by their peers and will not be available to the public for at least a year, Yves Dauvilliers is betting heavily on the efficacy of the new molecule. “I am optimistic because the discovery is absolutely brilliant. We have a very promising new mechanism of action,” he told BFMTV.com.
Meanwhile, the authorities insist on the importance of screening, which is too “trivialized”. “You have to understand that sleeping in class when you are young can reveal an underlying disease,” says Yves Dauvilliers in the press release. Today, it takes an average of eight years to diagnose narcolepsy, and only a third of patients are diagnosed. , it’s really too little.”
Source: BFM TV
