Therapeutic Prospects of Ketamine for Cataplexy in Narcolepsy Type 1: Evidence from a Human Case and a Murine Model
Abstract
Narcolepsy type 1 is characterized by cataplexy, for which current treatments targeting monoaminergic, histaminergic, and GABAergic pathways may be ineffective or poorly tolerated. We report the case of a 34-year-old man with narcolepsy type 1, intolerant to standard therapies, who experienced marked and sustained cataplexy reduction with morning intranasal ketamine, with symptom recurrence upon discontinuation. To confirm this observation, ketamine was compared with vehicle in a crossover study in orexin knockout mice implanted for polysomnography. Ketamine dramatically reduced time spent in cataplexy (-76%, p = 0.008) without affecting sleep architecture. These translational findings suggest ketamine as a potential anticataplectic agent, warranting further clinical investigation. ANN NEUROL 2026;100:1023-1027.
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BibTeX
@article{ricordeau2026therapeutic,
title = {{Therapeutic Prospects of Ketamine for Cataplexy in Narcolepsy Type 1: Evidence from a Human Case and a Murine Model}},
author = {Francois Ricordeau and Sebastien Arthaud and Leila Langbour and Silvia Melzi and Aurelie Richard-Mornas and Hannah Doudoux and Benjamin Rolland and Laure Peter-Derex and Christelle Peyron},
journal = {Annals of Neurology},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.1002/ana.78343},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05804414v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Therapeutic Prospects of Ketamine for Cataplexy in Narcolepsy Type 1: Evidence from a Human Case and a Murine Model
AU - Francois Ricordeau
AU - Sebastien Arthaud
AU - Leila Langbour
AU - Silvia Melzi
AU - Aurelie Richard-Mornas
AU - Hannah Doudoux
AU - Benjamin Rolland
AU - Laure Peter-Derex
AU - Christelle Peyron
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/28
JO - Annals of Neurology
DO - 10.1002/ana.78343
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05804414v1
AB - Narcolepsy type 1 is characterized by cataplexy, for which current treatments targeting monoaminergic, histaminergic, and GABAergic pathways may be ineffective or poorly tolerated. We report the case of a 34-year-old man with narcolepsy type 1, intolerant to standard therapies, who experienced marked and sustained cataplexy reduction with morning intranasal ketamine, with symptom recurrence upon discontinuation. To confirm this observation, ketamine was compared with vehicle in a crossover study in orexin knockout mice implanted for polysomnography. Ketamine dramatically reduced time spent in cataplexy (-76%, p = 0.008) without affecting sleep architecture. These translational findings suggest ketamine as a potential anticataplectic agent, warranting further clinical investigation. ANN NEUROL 2026;100:1023-1027.
SN - 0364-5134
SN - 1531-8249
ER -