Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0040822 (tremor)
 18,428 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The familial occurrence of essential tremor combined with (congenital) nystagmus, duodenal ulceration and a narcolepsy-like sleep disturbance caused by an autosomal dominant gene with high penetrance and fairly uniform expressivity is reported in a family of Swedish-Finnish ancestry. Twelve of 17 affected family members had essential tremor which began between 30-40 years of age and which could be controlled temporarily by alcohol; this resulted in alcoholism in several affected individuals. The most severly affected persons showed cerebellar signs which may reflect a possible pathogenetic relationship of the syndrome to the genetic cerebellar atrophies. Nystagmus, observed in 12 of 17 affected family members (eight of whom were also affected with tremor) usually was congenital and accompanied by refractive errors. Duodenal ulcers occurred almost exclusively in individuals with the neurological syndrome, and preceded its onset in some cases. The ulcer disease therefore seems to be a component manifestation of the syndrome and is interpreted as a pleiotropic effect of the gene which also causes the nystagmus, tremor and sleep disturbance.
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PMID:Essential tremor, nystagmus and duodenal ulceration. A "new" dominantly inherited condition. 124 68

Yohimbine was used in four men and four women ranging in age from 21 to 64 years with nocturnal polysomnography and multiple sleep latency test-verified narcolepsy. All achieved a stimulant response in doses ranging from 2.7 to 16.2 mg/day. The effective dose was defined as the amount of medication required to maintain subjective wakefulness for 8 consecutive working hours. The average effective dose was approximately 8 mg/day. While one subject became immediately tolerant, others maintained a response for several weeks. The first subject continued to have good control of sleepiness for 17 months. Mild and transient side effects were insomnia, diarrhea, dyspepsia, flushing, and tremor. Alpha-2 adrenergic receptor abnormalities are suspected in narcolepsy, which could explain the improvement in sleepiness for these patients.
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PMID:Effectiveness of yohimbine in treating narcolepsy. 797 85

Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) is a compound found in mammalian brain which meets many criteria of a neurotransmitter. GHB has been investigated as a tool for inducing absence (petit mal) seizures, for use as an anesthetic, and for treatment of narcolepsy, alcohol dependence and opiate dependence. Since 1990 GHB has been abused in the United States for euphoric, sedative and anabolic effects. Coma and seizures have been reported following abuse of GHB, but dependence liability has received little attention. The neuropharmacology, potential therapeutic uses and acute adverse effects of GHB are reviewed, followed by a case series of eight people using GHB. Adverse effects of GHB may include prolonged abuse, seizure activity and a withdrawal syndrome. This withdrawal syndrome includes insomnia, anxiety and tremor; withdrawal symptoms resolve in 3-12 days. GHB has the potential to cause a significant incidence of abuse and adverse effects. Prolonged use of high doses may lead to a withdrawal syndrome, which resolves without sequelae. Educational efforts should address the narrow therapeutic index, possible physical dependence and dangers of combining GHB with other drugs of abuse.
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PMID:Gamma-hydroxybutyrate: an emerging drug of abuse that causes physical dependence. 937 74

Modafinil is a selective wakefulness-promoting agent with beneficial effects in narcolepsy and conditions of sleep deprivation. In a double-blind study we examined its effects in 30 healthy, non sleep-deprived students (19 men and 11 women, aged 19-23 years), who were randomly allocated to placebo, 100 or 200 mg modafinil and 3 h later completed 100 mm visual analogue scales relating to mood and bodily symptoms, before and after an extensive battery of cognitive tests (pen and paper and CANTAB). There were no significant differences between the three treatment groups on any of the cognitive tests used in this study. There was a significant post-treatment change in the factor measuring 'somatic anxiety' and in individual ratings of 'shaking', 'palpitations', 'dizziness', 'restlessness', 'muscular tension', 'physical tiredness' and 'irritability', which was mainly due to significantly higher ratings of somatic anxiety in the 100 mg group compared with the other two groups. Further changes in mood were revealed after the stress of cognitive testing, with the 100 mg group showing greater increases in the 'psychological anxiety' and the 'aggressive mood' factors (as measured from the Bond and Lader scales).
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PMID:Modafinil affects mood, but not cognitive function, in healthy young volunteers. 1267 67

Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is an established treatment for selected patients with medically refractory seizures. Recent studies suggest that VNS could be potentially useful in the treatment of resistant depressive disorder. Although a surgical procedure is required in order to implant the VNS device, the possibility of a long-term benefit largely free of severe side effects could give VNS a privileged place in the management of resistant depression. In addition, VNS appears to affect pain perception in depressed adults; a possible role of VNS in the treatment of severe refractory headache, intractable chronic migraine and cluster headache has also been suggested. VNS is currently investigated in clinical studies, as a potential treatment for essential tremor, cognitive deficits in Alzheimer's disease, anxiety disorders, and bulimia. Finally, other studies explore the potential use of VNS in the treatment of resistant obesity, addictions, sleep disorders, narcolepsy, coma and memory and learning deficits.
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PMID:Vagus nerve stimulation: indications and limitations. 1769 14

The Taiep rat is a myelin mutant with a motor syndrome characterized by tremor, ataxia, immobility, epilepsy, and paralysis. The rat shows a hypomyelination followed by a progressive demyelination. During immobilities taiep rats show a REM-like sleep pattern and a disorganized sleep-wake pattern suggesting taiep rats as a model of narcolepsy-cataplexy. Our study analyzed the role of postsynaptic serotonin receptors in the expression of gripping-induced immobility episodes (IEs) in 8-month-old male taiep rats. The specific postsynaptic serotonin agonist +/-1-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine hydrochloride (+/-DOI) decreased the frequency of gripping-induced IEs, but that was not the case with alpha-methyl-serotonin maleate (alpha-methyl-5HT), a nonspecific postsynaptic agonist. Although the serotonin antagonists, ketanserine and metergoline, produced a biphasic effect, first a decrease followed by an increase with higher doses, similar effects were obtained with a mean duration of gripping-induced IEs. These findings correlate with the pharmacological observations in narcoleptic dogs and humans in which serotonin-reuptake inhibitors improve cataplexy, particularly in long-term treatment that could change the serotonin receptor levels. Polysomnographic recordings showed an increase in the awakening time and a decrease in the slow wave and rapid eye movement sleep concomitant with a decrease in immobilities after use of +/-DOI, this being stronger with the highest dose. Taken together, our results show that postsynaptic serotonin receptors are involved in the modulation in gripping-induced IEs caused by the changes in the organization of the sleep-wake cycle in taiep rats. It is possible that specific agonists, without side effects, could be a useful treatment in human narcoleptic patients.
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PMID:Serotonergic-postsynaptic receptors modulate gripping-induced immobility episodes in male taiep rats. 1948 23

Gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) is a neurotransmitter that occurs naturally in the brain and is increasingly being used as a 'party drug' because of its relaxing and euphoria-inducing effects. GHB has a limited medical use in the treatment of narcolepsy. GHB-intoxications occur often in non-medical use, and generally result in a coma of short duration. GHB use several times a day can lead to tolerance and dependence. After sudden cessation or reduction of intensive GHB use, a severe withdrawal syndrome may occur with symptoms varying from tremor, anxiety and agitation to autonomic instability, hallucinations and delirium. Treatment of the GHB withdrawal syndrome consists of supportive care and benzodiazepines, often in high doses. The controlled detoxification of GHB using pharmaceutical GHB in an adjusted dose is currently being investigated in the Netherlands. There is no literature concerning the treatment of patients following GHB intoxication or after detoxification.
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PMID:[Gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) dependence and the GHB withdrawal syndrome: diagnosis and treatment]. 2104 Jun 1

We report a 5-year-old boy with epilepsy and narcolepsy-cataplexy. He developed myoclonic seizures at the age of 4 years, which manifested as head shaking to the left. Approximately 6 months later, narcolepsy-cataplexy with excessive daytime sleepiness occurred. Although a short-time electroencephalography (EEG) and 24-hour ambulatory EEG monitoring found epileptiform discharges, no seizures were determined. Oxcarbazepine was used and led to increased attacks. Video EEG testing finally confirmed the diagnosis of epilepsy; therefore, valproate was given and seizures were controlled completely. Typical cataplexy triggered by laughing, together with the positive multiple sleep latency tests confirmed a diagnosis of narcolepsy-cataplexy. Human leukocyte antigens DQB1*0602 was positive, and the hypocretin level in cerebrospinal fluid was found to be decreased. Combination of valproate, methylphenidate, and clomipramine treatment improved the symptoms of both narcolepsy-cataplexy and seizure. The coexistence of both disorders in this single patient indicated that there might be a common mechanism between epilepsy and narcolepsy-cataplexy.
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PMID:Epilepsy and narcolepsy-cataplexy in a child. 2259 15

Orexin-deficient mice express narcoleptic episodes which mirror some of the main symptoms of human narcolepsy. Therefore, they are often used in narcolepsy research. However, little is known about some behavioral characteristics of narcoleptic episodes, e.g. about episode types, duration, and variability. In the present study, 351 narcoleptic episodes of orexin-deficient mice were behaviorally characterized. Based on this data, we describe different onset and progression episodes types. These episode types affected episode duration, i.e. abrupt onsets and 'shaking'-like movements increased episode duration. Our data suggests that promoting motor activity enhances the frequency of narcoleptic episode. Inter-individual variability of episode frequency and duration was large; however, the intra-individual frequency was relatively stable. Based on these findings we suggest the following to increase the statistical power of experiments in orexin-deficient mice: Using a pre-screen and selecting the mice with decent episode frequency, using an enriched environment as well as using repeated-measure designs.
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PMID:Behavioral analysis of narcoleptic episodes in orexin-deficient mice. 2433 39