Cerebrospinal fluid-orexin decreases during intraventricular α-interferon therapy of the patients with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis

We determined the orexin concentration in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF-OX) in two patients with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis who underwent intracerebroventricular (ICV) α-interferon (IFN-α) therapy. In these patients, CSF-OX were in the normal range before ICV administration of IFN-α, and it decreased to undetectable levels after the initiation of IFN-α therapy. It was reported that the production of prepro-OX, which is a precursor of OX, was prevented when IFN-α was given to the gene promoter region of prepro-OX. These results suggest that the production of OX may be suppressed by inhibition of promotor activity when IFN-α is given to the cerebral ventricle in humans.