Novel Insomnia Drug

Novel Insomnia Drug Shows Promise for Jet Lag

By John Gever, Senior Editor, MedPage Today Published: December 01, 2008 Reviewed by Zalman S. Agus, MD; Emeritus Professor  University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

BOSTON, Dec. 1 -- An investigational drug to combat insomnia helped people cope with disrupted sleep-wake cycles, as are found with jet lag or rotating work shifts, said researchers here. Significant improvements in all major sleep outcomes were seen with tasimelteon compared with placebo in separate phase II and phase III studies, reported Elizabeth B. Klerman, M.D., Ph.D., of Brigham and Women's Hospital, and colleagues online in The Lancet. The studies of the melatonin receptor agonist involved healthy individuals who were told to go to sleep five hours earlier than normal at a sleep clinic. Because the study took place in an unfamiliar environment, participants were also expected to have transient insomnia known as the "first-night effect."/.../