In a latest research, Dr. Louis J. Ptacek and his group has determined how the gene causes the condition known as familial advanced sleep phase syndrome (FASPS), by transplanting the gene into mice to create rodents with FASPS.
Scientists have been studying several families with a unique sleep problem. These so-called “morning larks” have a condition known as familial advanced sleep phase syndrome (FASPS). People with this condition have a gene mutation that causes them to go to sleep — in the most extreme cases — at four or five in the afternoon and wake up at one in the morning. “FASPS is not hugely common, but it’s not rare,” Ptacek said. “About 0.3 percent of the population has the mutation.”
Ptacek thinks these findings may eventually lead to ways to reset humans’ internal time clocks and provide new drugs to help deal with sleep problems caused by factors such as shift work or jet lag. The findings are published in the Jan. 12 issue of Cell.