19th March 2020
In the current climate, everyone is extremely concerned about the effects of Covid-19 on their own and their family’s health. A number of conditions are associated with elevated risk of significant complications of the infection, including individuals whose immune systems are suppressed through disease or medication.
While narcolepsy is thought to have an immune basis, this does not constitute suppression of the immune system. In narcolepsy, it is believed that an environmental trigger has triggered an immune response against a particular part of the brain, but this does not mean that narcolepsy weakens the immune system, and we have no evidence that people with narcolepsy are at risk of coronavirus triggering anything similar. We have no reason to believe that people living with narcolepsy have any elevated risk compared to people without narcolepsy matched for age and health.
Narcolepsy UK are grateful to Dr. Guy Leschziner for his professional advice on this matter.
Also of interest, although we are not hearing reports of issues currently, our Chair has raised concerns with the relevant authorities about potential issues with the supply chain and delivery mechanisms for controlled drugs in particular & will report on this as soon as we have more information.
Meanwhile, we suggest that you bookmark this link so that you have access to all relevant advice:
https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/coronavirus-covid-19-uk-government-response