Reason for a Change-Mitch’s Blog

I got a lesson in naroclepsy yesterday, I was walking to the Optometry School, and had just come out of the forest near Jean-Paul’s “Adam and Eve” sculpture, and I saw two people walking, a woman and her grown son. I heard the man say “oh-oh”, and she turned around and caught him as he went limp. She was standing there holding him, and that time I and another guy asked if she needed help. She seemed ok, but then admitted that she did. Her son weighed about 250 pounds, and the three of us were able to get him to the ground safely.

She told us he had narcolepsy, and that they were headed to the doctor for a checkup. He soon woke up, and while sitting on the ground for a moment, he gave us the details of what it is like, and why it happens. His body was not secreting hpyocretins, horomones which are made in the hypothalamus.

Here is what Wikipedia says about the newly discovered relationship of hypocretins to naroclepsy: “Orexin/hypocretin neurons strongly excite various brain nuclei with important roles in wakefulness including the dopamine, norepinephrine, histamine and acetylcholine systems and appear to play an important role in stabilizing wakefulness and sleep.”

He can tell when it is coming on, but only by a few seconds; he’s had quite a few concussions. He also said he is fully conscious during the spell. All his muscle tone leaves his body, and he falls, the body is asleep, but his mind is awake.

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