People with a severe sleep disorder are almost all affected by a single gene mutation which affects the immune system, researchers have revealed.
The gene is linked to narcolepsy with cataplexy, a disease which causes poor sleep but also sudden seizures similar to epileptic fits.
The Swiss-based study found the common gene mutation, DQB1*06:02, was found in almost all European patients known to suffer from the condition.
The mutation affects 20% of Europeans in total.
The study, reported in the journal Sleep, involved some 1,261 people with the condition – nearly 90% of patients identified as having the condition on the condition. The gene was found in 99.32% of patients.
These were compared with some 1,422 healthy people.
The researchers believe the condition is caused by the immune system mistakenly attacking brain cells that make hypocretin, a hormone that helps with alertness.
Researcher Professor Mehdi Tafti, of the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, said: "For the first time we have tested the HLA association all over Europe.
"This almost 100% association is somehow unique to narcolepsy and suggests a causal implication."
DQB1 Locus Alone Explains Most of the Risk and Protection in Narcolepsy with Cataplexy in Europe. Sleep 1 January 2014 [abstract]
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