Narcolepsy Research
People Who Inspire Me: High School Students and Neuroscientists
Today, my inspiration comes from Boston and North Carolina. In Boston, a female neuroscientist, Nancy is training to run the Boston Marathon for Wake Up Narcolepsy. She researches sleep-disordered breathing, but she’s become aware of narcolepsy. Nancy states: “Patients are the reason we as scientists go to work every day… I have run a few marathons before,…
Read MoreInfluenza A (including H1N1 infection) May Trigger Narcolepsy
What causes narcolepsy? I wasn’t born with narcolepsy but developed it in my late teens to early 20’s. Evidence continues to suggest that influenza A (including H1N1) and other winter airway infections play a significant role in narcolepsy onset. However, the role of H1N1 vaccination is a different story, suggests a recent study led by…
Read MoreInsomnia Drug Develops from Narcolepsy Research
What do people with insomnia and people with narcolepsy have in common? Trick question! I don’t know, but we may be coming closer to an answer. In the late 90’s, narcolepsy researchers made a significant breakthrough in successfully identifying the brain cells, called hypocretin (or orexin), that go missing in those that develop narcolepsy. These…
Read MoreREMRunner Returns to the National Institutes of Health
Last Friday, April 29th, was a beautiful sunny day in Washington DC. I was up by 6am to make the journey to Bethesda, Maryland, through NIH security, and across the Campus to Building 31 by 8:30am. Entering the conference room a few minutes early, I couldn’t help but smile a big gawking smile when I…
Read MoreThe People Behind the Magic
Photography by Julie Flygare While in San Francisco last week, I had a long list of things to do – visiting friends, family, museums, and typical tourist attractions. One destination on my “to-do” list was slightly off the beaten path, but somewhere I’d dreamed of going for three years. And so began my pilgrimage… …
Read MoreMoving Research Forward
As I arrived in Boston this morning, nerves tumbled in my stomach. I walked through a picturesque snow-swept Copley Square, past the finish line of the Boston Marathon. I was in Boston — not to run, but to face another formidable challenge. I was here to participate in a Narcolepsy Stem Cell Research Study. As…
Read MoreThe Wizard of Narcolepsy
Surely I’d set myself up for disappointment. There was no way anyonecould live up to the image I’d created in my head. Like the Wizard of Oz, this Wizard of Narcolepsy was sure to disappoint. I sat in a cushy red and gold chair, facing the front of the ballroom, along with about 200 conference attendees.…
Read MoreDuring the Off-Season: REMRunner Visits the National Institutes of Health
The room was silent. The portable microphone was ice-cold in the grip of my sweaty hot palm. Balanced against my left arm was my sheet of talking points. I wasn’t nervous about what I would say – I’d drafted my speech the night before. Plus, these words didn’t need to be memorized – they were…
Read MoreCrossing the Finish Line… All Over Again.
The marathon was months ago. My running shoes are now collecting dust and climbing a few flights of stairs leaves me winded. Yet, I recently received news that transported me right back to marathon day – news so exciting that I felt like throwing my arms up in the air and doing a few big…
Read MoreThe Exercise-Free Plan to Raise $250,000
I recently ran 26.2 miles to raise money for narcolepsy research, proudly raising over $6,000. However, I am excited to announce a MUCH less physically-demanding way to raise $250,000 towards vital narcolepsy research! As you may remember, I wrote a blog post about the narcolepsy specialist, Dr. Mignot of Stanford’s Center for Narcolepsy and his hopes to…
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