Diffusion tensor imaging analysis along the perivascular space revealed the dysfunction of glymphatic system in narcolepsy type1 patients

Motivation: The glymphatic system plays an important role in sleep. However, it’s unknown if the glymphatic system was impaired in narcolepsy type1 (NT1) patients. Goal(s): Investigate if the glymphatic system was impaired and the correlation between dysfunction of glymphatic system and clinical symptom. Approach: 31 NT1 and 23 healthy controls (HC) were enrolled. DTI-ALPS was used to assess the function of glymphatic system and compared between NT1 and HC. The correlation between DTI-ALPS index and clinical symptom was analyzed. Results: The DTI-ALPS index was significantly lower in NT1 than in HC and was significantly correlated with the percentage of N3 stage sleep in NT1. Impact: We firstly reported the dysfunction of glymphatic system in narcolepsy type1 patients and its correlation with clinical symptom. Our study suggested the glymphatic system should be taken into consideration for the treatment of narcolepsy type1 patients.