The State - News from July 7, 1985

Scientists are hopeful that new studies showing narcolepsy to be genetically transmitted may lead to a cure for the sleep disorder that afflicts 250,000 Americans. The neurological disorder causes its victims to lose control over when they sleep and can result in hallucinations. Dr. William Dement, director of the Sleep Disorders Center at Stanford University, said that research in several countries has shown that defective genes are present in the blood of patients with narcolepsy. It is hoped that the disease eventually can be prevented or cured by replacing the defective genes.