Snorting a Brain Chemical Could Replace Sleep

cnredd · #1 (**permalink**) 12-29-2007, 03:43 AM

Quote:

In what sounds like a dream for millions of tired coffee drinkers, Darpa-funded scientists might have found a drug that will eliminate sleepiness.

A nasal spray containing a naturally occurring brain hormone called orexin A reversed the effects of sleep deprivation in monkeys, allowing them to perform like well-rested monkeys on cognitive tests. The discovery's first application will probably be in treatment of the severe sleep disorder narcolepsy.

The treatment is "a totally new route for increasing arousal, and the new study shows it to be relatively benign," said Jerome Siegel, a professor of psychiatry at UCLA and a co-author of the paper. "It reduces sleepiness without causing edginess."

Orexin A is a promising candidate to become a "sleep replacement" drug. For decades, stimulants have been used to combat sleepiness, but they can be addictive and often have side effects, including raising blood pressure or causing mood swings. The military, for example, administers amphetamines to pilots flying long distances, and has funded research into new drugs like the stimulant modafinil and orexin A in an effort to help troops stay awake with the fewest side effects.

The monkeys were deprived of sleep for 30 to 36 hours and then given either orexin A or a saline placebo before taking standard cognitive tests. The monkeys given orexin A in a nasal spray scored about the same as alert monkeys, while the saline-control group was severely impaired.

The study, published in the Dec. 26 edition of The Journal of Neuroscience, found orexin A not only restored monkeys' cognitive abilities but made their brains look "awake" in PET scans.

Siegel said that orexin A is unique in that it only had an impact on sleepy monkeys, not alert ones, and that it is "specific in reversing the effects of sleepiness" without other impacts on the brain.

Such a product could be widely desired by the more than 70 percent of Americans who the National Sleep Foundation estimates get less than the generally recommended eight hours of sleep per night.

I have a problem with this..."What?!?!" You say?...Read on...

I look at this the same way one looks at steroids (and not from a legal standpoint)...

Imagine a minor leaguer who thinks to himself "Everyone aroud me is doing steroids, but I don't want that unnatural stuff in my body...But I KNOW that puts me in a losing situation because others are taking the quick route."

That's what workers would feel about this...me being one of them...

there won't be bosses that are this obvious, but I can imagine this conversation...

Quote:

BOSS - Joe, your commissions aren't up to Steve's pace...Why don't you use this spray so you can get a few extra hours in a week?"

JOE - I don't like putting unecessary medicines in my body...I'd just rather not."

BOSS (Thinking he'll replace Joe with someone that will) - "Joe...Have your desk empty by lunch."

foundit66 · #2 (**permalink**) 01-02-2008, 01:48 PM

I see your concern as valid.

Plus (and I hate to sound like a Bill Maher ditto-head), but it's yet another CHEMICAL solution to a biological situation. (I may just be repeating your point cnredd, but I'll do it anyways...)
If you want to be more alert, get the proper amount of rest and utilize exercise. Exercise your body and mind.
Using a chemical as a substitute for good habits isn't a good thing, IMO.

On another note, it sounds like this is wayyy too early in the "clinical trials" to really determine what potential long-term effects there are.
(And along those lines, I am reminded of a few *Drugs and How they became illegal* documentaries on the History channel. It was amazing how many times our society has praised the virtues of some now illegal drugs for everyday, non-prescription, even mail-order use before their ACTUAL effects became known.)

Now, I'm off to get my second cup of coffee...

Spencer Collins · #3 (**permalink**) 01-02-2008, 02:15 PM

Setting new performance paradigms are not without risk....

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