Jun 08 2019
Leading Edge TV Series Presents the Face of Narcolepsy

In-depth Segment Reveals the Real-life Challenges of Narcolepsy Patients

Program Features Wake Up Narcolepsy

The sleep disease narcolepsy isn’t exactly a household name, but that could change when the Leading Edge Series (www.leadingedgeseries.com) rolls out an in-depth examination of the condition next week.

Featuring the work of Wake Up Narcolepsy, Inc., which is based in Worcester, the program debuts on December 15 on public television stations available to some 50 million U.S. households across America. The Leading Edge Series will provide revealing, first-person profiles of people with narcolepsy, along with interviews with leading sleep physicians and research scientists.

The Wake Up Narcolepsy segment of the program is available at www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGstEGSMt20.

In addition, a new Wake Up Narcolepsy public service announcement (PSA) is now being broadcast in primetime (6-11:45 PM) on CNN, CNN Headline News, Fox News, MSNBC, CNBC, and Family Channel. View this PSA at www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwsogTG-OKI.

Wake Up Narcolepsy (WUN) is a nonprofit foundation dedicated to speeding narcolepsy diagnosis by spreading awareness of the disease, and funding medical research to find a cure.

Narcolepsy is a lifelong, still incurable sleep disease characterized by chronic, uncontrollable, excessive daytime sleepiness and many other disabling symptoms. It affects more than 200,000 Americans and 3 million people worldwide. Unfortunately, the disorder is poorly understood, even by much of the medical community. Consequently, it is common for 8-10 years to pass between initial onset of symptoms and proper diagnosis, leading to years of unnecessary, arduous suffering.

“Though narcolepsy is often thought of as an adult affliction, symptoms usually begin between ages 11 and 17,” said Monica Gow, WUN Co-founder and Executive Director, who is raising a teenage son with the disease. “But because diagnosis can be delayed for years, many young people with symptoms are not diagnosed until young adulthood. We hope the Leading Edge program will help dispel this and other widely held misconceptions and help accelerate diagnosis and treatment.”

The host of the award-winning Leading Edge Series is former NFL coach and broadcaster Jimmy Johnson. The Leading Edge Series partners with leading community and advocacy groups across the nation and worldwide to deliver cutting-edge educational programming to viewers everywhere.

These short-form segments educate viewing audiences while making a greater impact in the quiet, low-clutter environment found only on public broadcasting. This non-commercial approach to on-air education provides insightful and rewarding programs that speak to the intellect, entertain, and foster a community connection. This is television at its best.