HEALTHType A's perk up over modafinil, an anti-sleeping pillDoctors be ready: A medication for sleep disorders is bound to attract interest from people who are just plain sleepy.By Susan J. Landers, amednews staff. Nov. 11, 2002. Washington -- A surgeon awakens groggy after a restless night, feeling less than tip-top for a tricky, 12-hour procedure. A shift worker can't cope with the circadian chaos caused by working when sleep is called for. A Wall Street lawyer puts in the usual 14-hour day and a night of socializing and must bounce back to make million-dollar decisions in the morning. All are sleep-deprived, and all could seek modafinil, a stimulant marketed in the United States under the name Provigil by Cephalon Inc., a biopharmaceutical company in West Chester, Pa. Used in Europe for several years, it was approved in late 1998 by the Food and Drug Administration for use by patients who have narcolepsy. But could this drug also be the answer for which some of those Type A's have been looking? So far the medication has an admirable safety record. As word of its attributes spreads, it could be tapped as a support system for fast-paced lives -- and become a topic between patients and primary care physicians. It is already prescribed off label for people with sleep apnea and depression, and studies have shown that it is effective for multiple sclerosis patients with excessive sleepiness. The military is interested in modafinil, and a study at Fort Rucker in Alabama found that the drug boosted the performance of sleep-deprived helicopter pilots. But another study done at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, Md., found that while modafinil works, so do six cups of coffee. Meanwhile, modafinil has become a big seller, with its sales doubling, $72 million to $150 million, from 2000 to 2001. The company is sponsoring studies intended to broaden the drug's appeal and further boost sales.
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Copyright 2002 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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