Low CD40L levels and relative lymphopenia in narcoleptic patients

Narcolepsy has been studied as a possible autoimmune disease for many years, and recent findings lend more credence to this belief. Although recent and important advances have been done, no study has analyzed the role of the CD40L in patients with narcolepsy. The purpose of this study was to assess CD40L levels, CD3, TCD4, TCD8, CD19, and CD56 lymphocytes, as well as levels of tumor necrosis factor–α and interleukin-6 in narcoleptic patients. We quantified the levels of CD40L, different types of lymphocytes, and levels of tumor necrosis factor–α and interleukin-6 in narcoleptic patients and control subjects. Narcoleptic patients had lower levels of CD40L. Total lymphocytes; CD3, and TCD4 were lower than in the control group. Our findings highlight the important role of CD40L in narcolepsy.