Scientists have retracted a December 2013 study suggesting that narcolepsy is caused by an immune attack on one’s own tissues (SN: 1/25/14, p. 12). The study, led by researchers at Stanford University, had found that people with narcolepsy had cadres of immune T cells that targeted neurons making the peptide orexin (also called hypocretin), a neurotransmitter crucial for staying awake.
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