Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Narcolepsy

Hi Everyone,
I was wondering if anyone else has narcolepsy. I was just diagnosed yesterday and I was wondering if it might have something to do with my AS.

Hi cpiper,
I dont have it but my brother does as far as I know its nothing to do with AS. Im sorry you have this my brother has had it for years.


Kevin

Did your brother recover from it, Kevin?

Hi Wendy,
No there is no cure for Narcolepsy hes had it about 20 years. He suffers with every thing that goes with it vivid night mares, stops breathing,can collapse any were any time.He was a gardner when he first got it and used to cycle to hes jobs used to fall aseep while riding hes bike collapse into flowerbeds fall asleep in the street while eating hes dinner.Its horrible to watch when he collapses and hes not asleep he cant talk or move and can hear every thing going on around him. He has to take very high doses of amphetamine but even that dosent stop hes symptoms.

Kevin

Hi cpiper, I'm sorry to hear of this added diagnosis. Jeepers, it's been a rough week for our KA Family. I googled "narcolepsy and ankylosing spondylitis" to see what would come up:

Here's an article from Medicine Net: Medicine Net on Narcolepsy The following two paragraphs in particular are interesting.

Narcolepsy is associated with a specific type of human leukocyte antigen (HLA). HLAs are genetically determined proteins on the surface of white blood cells. They are a part of the body's immune (defense) system. The finding of a very high HLA-association in narcolepsy led to the proposal that narcolepsy is an autoimmune disease, similar to other HLA-associated diseases such as multiple sclerosis and ankylosing spondylitis.

It is theorized that an autoimmune reaction causes the loss of nerve cells in the brain in patients with narcolepsy. The environment (for example, infection or trauma) might trigger an autoimmune reaction where normal brain cells are attacked by the body's own immune system. As a result, the neurons are damaged and ultimately destroyed, and they and their neurotransmitter chemicals disappear. Whether narcolepsy is an autoimmune disease remains to be proven.

So, while the AS probably didn't cause the narcolepsy, it's possible that the two are related. I think the jury's still out on this.

Hope that helps.

Hugs,