title: Does the prion protein gene 129 codon polymorphism influence sleep? Evidence from a fatal familial insomnia kindred.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Experimental and clinical evidence in prion diseases suggests that the prion protein gene (PRNP) plays a role in regulating sleep.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventeen healthy individuals belonging to a single fatal familial insomnia pedigree, 8 carriers and 9 non-carriers of the PRNP codon 178 mutation, underwent polysomnography and spectral electroencephalographic (EEG) analysis. All were also characterized with regard to the codon 129 polymorphism on both PRNP alleles.
  
  
  RESULTS
  PRNP codon 129 polymorphism exhibited influences on sleep-EEG activities. In particular, spindle frequency band power and balance between delta and spindle activity were found to correlate with the genotype of PRNP codon 129, irrespective of the mutation at codon 178.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data suggest that PRNP codon 129 polymorphism may also affect sleep in the healthy population and warrant further studies in the general population and other sleep disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Bologna, 7-40123 Bologna, Italy. plazzi@neuro.unibo.it
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Plazzi
authors.forename: Pasquale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Montagna
authors.forename: Manolo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Beelke
authors.forename: Lino
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Nobili
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: De Carli
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cortelli
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vandi
authors.forename: Patrizia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Avoni
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tinuper
authors.forename: Pierluigi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gambetti
authors.forename: Elio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lugaresi
authors.forename: Franco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ferrillo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003062:Codon / Q000235:genetics; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D034062:Insomnia, Fatal Familial / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010375:Pedigree; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D011328:Prions / Q000235:genetics*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012890:Sleep / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D003062:Codon; D011328:Prions