Publications by authors named "Christine Egebjerg"

Poor sleep quality is a major issue for many adolescents and is associated with fatigue, poor academic performance, and depression. Adolescence is a crucial neurodevelopmental stage where multiple neuropsychiatric illnesses often emerge, suggesting increased central nervous system vulnerability, specifically at this age, which could be exacerbated by poor sleep. Studies on adolescent mice show that sleep deprivation or sleep disturbance (SD) induces structural and functional brain changes, indicating that SD affects the adolescent brain.

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Article Synopsis
  • Narcolepsy type 1 (NT1) is linked to the loss of hypocretin production and has been associated with the Pandemrix vaccine given during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, particularly in young people.
  • A study examined how Pandemrix affects Hcrt mRNA levels in adolescent mice, comparing them to a saline group and an undisturbed group.
  • Results showed a significant long-lasting decrease (about 60%) in Hcrt expression in vaccinated mice, supporting the theory that multiple factors may contribute to NT1 development rather than just one trigger like the vaccine.
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Infection with Influenza A virus (IAV) causes the well-known symptoms of the flu, including fever, loss of appetite, and excessive sleepiness. These responses, mediated by the brain, will normally disappear once the virus is cleared from the system, but a severe respiratory virus infection may cause long-lasting neurological disturbances. These include encephalitis lethargica and narcolepsy.

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Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is a complex symptom characterized by a strong urge to sleep during daytime accompanied by problems such as attention deficits, anxiety, and lower cognitive performance. The efficacy of treatments for EDS is determined by their ability to decrease sleepiness, and less attention has been given to the effects these compounds have on the quality of the wake itself. Hypocretin (HCRT; orexin) signalling is implicated in narcolepsy, and hypocretin receptor 2 (HCRTR2) agonists are in clinical trials for treating EDS in narcolepsy.

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