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 The paper, originally published in the journal Science
Translational Medicine in December 2013, suggested narcolepsy can
sometimes be triggered by a scientific phenomenon known as
"molecular mimicry," offering a possible explanation for its link to
GSK's "swine flu" vaccine, Pandemrix.
The results appeared to show that the debilitating disorder,
characterized by sudden sleepiness and muscle weakness, could be set
off by an immune response to a portion of a protein from the H1N1
flu virus that is very similar to a region of a protein called
hypocretin, which is key to narcolepsy.
But in a statement issued last week, the journal said the
researchers, led by Emmanuel Mignot, a professor of psychiatry and
behavioural sciences at Stanford University, had asked that the
paper be retracted "because they were unable to replicate some of
the results reported in the paper".
GSK, which has been funding Mignot's research into links between the
vaccine and narcolepsy, said in a statement it believed "the
original scientific hypothesis remains a valid one that needs to be
further explored".
"We will continue to support Professor Mignot and his colleagues
with their continued research in this area and hope these ongoing
efforts will enable us to provide more answers," the British
drugmaker said.
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Previous studies in countries where GSK's Pandemrix vaccine was used
in the 2009/2010 flu pandemic - including in Britain, Finland,
Sweden and Ireland - found its use was linked to a significant rise
in cases of narcolepsy in children.
Narcolepsy is thought to be brought about by loss of function in
"wakefulness" cells called hypocretin cells in one of the brain's
sleep centers.
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