Natural Sciences Active Updated Oct 10, 2026
The orexin discovery reshaping narcolepsy treatment
Where it stands as of Sep 24, 2026
Stanford's Emmanuel Mignot is sharing the 2026 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award for discovering in 1999 that the brain chemical orexin governs wakefulness, and researchers have now found orexin neurons also act as an effort-tracking system in the brain, beyond sleep alone. The discovery has already led to new narcolepsy and insomnia drugs, and orexin-replacement compounds like oveporexton are now in development for narcolepsy type 1. It is still unclear how far orexin-based treatment can extend to the muc
The story so far
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Oct 10, 2026 Latest
ScienceAlert reported that people with narcolepsy have surprisingly youthful brains, and that scientists do not yet know why.
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Sep 24, 2026
A study found orexin neurons act as an effort-tracking system in the brain, extending the chemical's known role beyond sleep and wakefulness, PsyPost reported.
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Sep 12, 2026
Stanford's Emmanuel Mignot, who discovered in 1999 that the brain chemical orexin controls wakefulness by studying narcoleptic dogs including his own Chihuahua Watson, is sharing the 2026 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award for the finding, which has since led directly to new narcolepsy and insomnia drugs.
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