Question: What is (are) Narcolepsy ?
Answer: Narcolepsy is a chronic neurological disorder caused by the brain's inability to regulate sleep-wake cycles normally. At various times throughout the day, people with narcolepsy experience irresistable bouts ofsleep. If the urge becomes overwhelming, individuals will fall asleep for periods lasting from a few seconds to several minutes. In rare cases, some people may remain asleep for an hour or longer. In addition to excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), three other major symptoms frequently characterize narcolepsy: cataplexy, or the sudden loss of voluntary muscle tone; vivid hallucinations during sleep onset or upon awakening; and brief episodes of total paralysis at the beginning or end of sleep. Narcolepsy is not definitively diagnosed in most patients until 10 to 15 years after the first symptoms appear. The cause of narcolepsy remains unknown. It is likely that narcolepsy involves multiple factors interacting to cause neurological dysfunction and sleep disturbances.
Source: NINDS

Question: What is the outlook for Narcolepsy ?
Answer: None of the currently available medications enables people with narcolepsy to consistently maintain a fully normal state of alertness. But EDS and cataplexy, the most disabling symptoms of the disorder, can be controlled in most patients with drug treatment. Often the treatment regimen is modified as symptoms change. Whatever the age of onset, patients find that the symptoms tend to get worse over the two to three decades after the first symptoms appear. Many older patients find that some daytime symptoms decrease in severity after age 60.
Source: NINDS

Question: what research (or clinical trials) is being done for Narcolepsy ?
Answer: The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and other institutes of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) conduct research into narcolepsy and other sleep disorders in laboratories at the NIH and also support additional research through grants to major medical institutions across the country. The NINDS continues to support investigations into the basic biology of sleep, including the brain mechanisms involved in generating and regulating sleep. Within the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, also a component of the NIH, the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research (NCSDR) coordinates Federal government sleep research activities and shares information with private and nonprofit groups.
Source: NINDS