Most people who have narcolepsy have low levels of hypocretin. This is a chemical in the brain that helps control levels of wakefulness. What causes these low hypocretin levels isn't well understood.

Researchers think that certain factors may work together to cause a lack of hypocretin. These factors may include:

* Heredity. Some people may inherit a gene that affects hypocretin. Up to 10 percent of people who have narcolepsy report having a relative with the same symptoms.
* Infections.
* Brain injuries due to conditions such as brain tumors or strokes.
* Contact with toxins, such as pesticides.
* Autoimmune disorders. These are conditions in which the body's immune system attacks the body's healthy cells. An example of an autoimmune disorder is rheumatoid arthritis.

Heredity alone doesn't cause narcolepsy. You also must have at least one other factor, such as one of those listed above, to develop narcolepsy.

It's time to take control of your narcolepsy and fight back. Although you may never be able to get rid of the disorder, it is possible to get it completely under control so that you can live a normal life.

The Vitaganic's Complete Formula for Narcolepsy combines natural supplements that can help you fight narcolepsy daily.

Narcolepsy may be associated with damage to the amygdala. A cerebral protein has recently been discovered that is decreased in a large number or all narcolepsy patients. The protein involved is called hypocretin or orexin. This might explain why narcolepsy runs in families.

There are many researches and advances made in the last few years to determine the cause of narcolepsy. The most recent discovery has been the finding of abnormalities in the structure and function of a certain group of nerve cells called hypocretin neurons in the brains of patients with narcolepsy. The cell are found in a part of the brain called hypothalamus and they usually secrete neurotransmitter substances called hypocretins.

The abnormalities in the hypocretin system could be responsible for the daytime sleepiness and abnormal REM sleep found in people with narcolepsy.

Those people who experienced narcolepsy have been found to have a markedly decrease number of hypocretin nerve cells and have decrease level of hypcoretins in the cerebrospinal flud.

Narcolepsy is also associated with a specific type of human leukocyte antigen. This finding of a very high HLA-associated in narcolepsy led to a proposal that it is an autoimmune disease similar to other HLA-associated diseases like multiple sclerosis and ankylosing spondylitis.