High-expression 5-HTT genotypes may render women more vulnerable to depressive symptoms after childbirth.

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An overwhelming portion of genetic risk for narcolepsy with cataplexy is found at DQB1 locus. Since DQB1*06:02 positive subjects are at 251-fold increase in risk for narcolepsy, and all recent cases of narcolepsy after H1N1 vaccination are positive for this allele, DQB1 genotyping may be relevant to public health policy.

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Summary Narcolepsy with cataplexy is a rare disease with an estimated prevalence of 0.02% in European populations. Narcolepsy shares many features of rare disorders, in particular the lack of awareness of the disease with serious consequences for healthcare supply. Similar to other rare diseases, only a few European countries have registered narcolepsy cases in databases of the International Classification of Diseases or in registries of the European health authorities. A promising approach to identify disease‐specific adverse health effects and needs in healthcare delivery in the field of rare diseases is to establish a distributed expert network. A first and important step is to create a database that allows collection, storage and dissemination of data on narcolepsy in a comprehensive and systematic way. Here, the first prospective web‐based European narcolepsy database hosted by the European Narcolepsy Network is introduced. The database structure, standardization of data acquisition and quality control procedures are described, and an overview provided of the first 1079 patients from 18 European specialized centres. Due to its standardization this continuously increasing data pool is most promising to provide a better insight into many unsolved aspects of narcolepsy and related disorders, including clear phenotype characterization of subtypes of narcolepsy, more precise epidemiological data and knowledge on the natural history of narcolepsy, expectations about treatment effects, identification of post‐marketing medication side‐effects, and will contribute to improve clinical trial designs and provide facilities to further develop phase III trials.

Objective: Cases of narcolepsy in association with psychotic features have been reported but never fully characterized. These patients present diagnostic and treatment challenges and may shed new light on immune associations in schizophrenia. Method: Our case series was gathered at two narcolepsy specialty centers over a 9-year period. A questionnaire was created to improve diagnosis of schizophrenia or another psychotic disorder in patients with narcolepsy. Pathophysiological investigations included full HLA Class I and II typing, testing for known systemic and intracellular/synaptic neuronal antibodies, recently described neuronal surface antibodies, and immunocytochemistry on brain sections to detect new antigens. Results: Ten cases were identifi ed, one with schizoaffective disorder, one with delusional disorder, two with schizophreniform disorder, and 6 with schizophrenia. In all cases, narcolepsy manifested fi rst in childhood or adolescence, followed by psychotic symptoms after a variable interval. These patients had auditory hallucinations, which was the most differentiating clinical feature in comparison to narcolepsy patients without psychosis. Narcolepsy therapy may have played a role in triggering psychotic symptoms but these did not reverse with changes in narcolepsy medications. Response to antipsychotic treatment was variable. Pathophysiological studies did not reveal any known autoantibodies or unusual brain immunostaining pattern. No strong HLA association outside of HLA DQB1*06:02 was found, although increased DRB3*03 and DPA1*02:01 was notable. Conclusion: Narcolepsy can occur in association with schizophrenia, with signifi cant diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Dual cases maybe under diagnosed, as onset is unusually early, often in childhood. Narcolepsy and psychosis may share an autoimmune pathology; thus, further investigations in larger samples are warranted. Keywords: type 1 narcolepsy, psychotic disorders, HLA, brain autoantibodies, autoimmune Citation: Canellas F, Lin L, Julià MR, Clemente A, VivesBauza C, Ollila HM, Hong SC, Arboleya SM, Einen MA, Faraco J, Fernandez-Vina M, Mignot E. Dual cases of type 1 narcolepsy with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. J Clin Sleep Med 2014;10(9):1011-1018. S C I E N T I F I C I N V E S T I G A T I O N ST ype 1 narcolepsy is a disabling sleep disorder caused by hypocretin-1 defi ciency affecting approximately 0.02% of adults worldwide.1 It is strongly associated with the DQB1*06:02 allele of the human leucocyte antigen (HLA) system, 2 and is likely due to an autoimmune attack causing a specifi c loss of hypothalamic hypocretin-1 neurons.Narcolepsy is characterized by the presence of daytime sleepiness, cataplectic attacks, hypnagogic/hypnopompic hallucinations, sleep paralysis, and disturbed nocturnal sleep. Initially narcolepsy was considered a psychiatric disorder, as some symptoms are reminiscent of psychiatric disorders, for instance, disordered thinking and confusion-like behaviors due to sleepiness; and psychotic-like symptoms d...

The transition to motherhood is stressful as it requires several important changes in family dynamics, finances, and working life, along with physical and psychological adjustments. This study aimed at determining whether some forms of coping might predict postpartum depressive symptomatology. A total of 1626 pregnant women participated in a multi-centric longitudinal study. Different evaluations were performed 8 and 32 weeks after delivery. Depression was assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the structured Diagnostic Interview for Genetic Studies (DIGS). The brief Coping Orientation for Problem Experiences (COPE) scale was used to measure coping strategies 2-3 days postpartum. Some coping strategies differentiate between women with and without postpartum depression. A logistic regression analysis was used to explore the relationships between the predictors of coping strategies and major depression (according to DSM-IV criteria). In this model, the predictor variables during the first 32 weeks were self-distraction (OR 1.18, 95 % CI 1.04-1.33), substance use (OR 0.58, 95 % CI 0.35-0.97), and self-blame (OR 1.18, 95 % CI 1.04-1.34). In healthy women with no psychiatric history, some passive coping strategies, both cognitive and behavioral, are predictors of depressive symptoms and postpartum depression and help differentiate between patients with and without depression.