Melatonin-Like Drug may Combat Sleep Disorders

A new drug, Tasimelteon, (manufactured by Vanda Pharmaceuticals) helped patients who suffer from circadian rhythm disorders sleep longer than a placebo.  This is potentially good news for jet-lagged travelers as well as shift workers. Millions of people are affected by nagging sleep disturbances such as insomnia and excessive sleepiness while trying to stay awake researchers said because their daily activities are out of sync with the body clock’s natural function.

Volunteers given the drug during the test fell asleep faster, had better sleep and woke up faster and did not experience any more side-effects than a placebo – mostly headaches - reported the researchers, which included Harvard Medical School’s Shantha Rajaratnam, PhD

It was reported that tasimelteon is a melatonin-like drug which helps set the sleep-wake schedule and can fight jet lag and other sleep disorders. Melatonin-like medications may help many sleep disorders but many of these over-the-counter (OTC) products are not regulated, they pointed out, and have not been consistently shown to help treat jet lag and other sleep disorders.

It’s estimated that 4 million US workers start work between 2:30 AM ad 7 AM.

“Most of these people probably experience chronic sleep restriction because they are unable to initiate and maintain sleep when they attempt to sleep in the early or late evening hours. Tasimelteon might alleviate this problem by advancing the sleep-wake cycle, by providing a direct sleep-promoting effect, or both,” the researchers wrote.

Source: The Lancet

Related Sleep Disorder Articles

• Music to Help You Sleep Quickly - Is there music to help you sleep? Music is a safe, natural, quick and long lasting way to help you get a good nights sleep. In this article, we’ll at why and give you some resources to help. ....
• Sleep aids, treatments or behavioral changes to treat Insomnia? - There are many ways to treat insomnia including sleep aids, medical treatments - prescription and over the counter, and behavioral changes. Whcih is right for you? We’ll attempt to give yo some guidance in this article. ....
• What Sleep Aids and Treatments Alleviate Insomnia? - There are many types of treatments for insomnia - medication, both prescription and over the counter, natural aids and bedding or other devices. We’ll help explain what your options are to treat insomnia or other sleep disorders. ....
• Common ways to Treat Sleep Apnea - Common treatments for sleep apnea include behavioral changes, medications, dental appliances and CPAP machines in extreme cases. We’ll discuss these and other options to help you break the sleep apnea disorder and get the sleep your brain and body needs. ....
• What are Different Treatments for Sleep Disorders? - We’ll take a look at an effective treatment plan to diagnose and treat sleep disorders to help you get a good night’s sleep your brain and body disparately need. ....