Page 115 - The autoimmune hypothesis of narcolepsy and its unexplored clinical features M.S. Schinkelshoek

This thesis falls apart into two parts: part 1 focuses on the autoimmune hypothesis of narcolepsy, while the second part focuses on NT1 symptoms that are frequently neglected, even though they add significantly to the burden of the disorder.
Autoimmune hypothesis of NT1
The same figure that was shown in the introduction of this thesis is depicted here. Figure 1 displays the hypothesis that antigens from outside the body trigger an immune response in people susceptible for developing NT1 that leads to an autoimmune attack on the hypocretin-producing neurons in the hypothalamus. In the Chapters of this thesis, several of the presumed immune mechanisms involved are investigated: Chapter 1 describes a potential new trigger for the autoimmune response; Chapter 2 focuses on HLA-DQB1 associations in NT1 before and after the H1N1 influenza pandemic; Chapter 3 describes the possible role of cross-reactive CD4+ T cells in the autoimmune response leading to NT1; and Chapter 4 evaluates all immune cells that are depicted in this figure to identify enriched populations in NT1.
Figure 1. A depiction of the autoimmune hypothesis of narcolepsy and the mechanisms that are investigated in the different Chapters of this thesis.
Summary, discussion and future perspectives
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