Results 1 to 4 of 4

Thread: Your thoughts on orexin A for SSS?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Alameda CA
    Posts
    174

    Default Your thoughts on orexin A for SSS?

    There is some interesting research going on in the long term interests of SSS members taking part in long distance races. Read about it and let me know your own reaction to the rubber hammer hitting just below your knee....(grin)...

    http://www.wired.com/science/discove...ep_deprivation

    Snorting a Brain Chemical Could Replace Sleep
    By Alexis Madrigal Email 12.28.07 | 12:00 AM
    A nasal spray of a key brain hormone cures sleepiness in sleep-deprived monkeys. With no apparent side effects, the hormone might be a promising sleep-replacement drug.

    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 (.pdf) 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 (.pdf).

    The research follows the discovery by Siegel that the absence of orexin A appears to cause narcolepsy. That finding pointed to a major role for the peptide's absence in causing sleepiness. It stood to reason that if the deficit of orexin A makes people sleepy, adding it back into the brain would reduce the effects, said Siegel.

    "What we've been doing so far is increasing arousal without dealing with the underlying problem," he said. "If the underlying deficit is a loss of orexin, and it clearly is, then the best treatment would be orexin."

    Dr. Michael Twery, director of the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research, said that while research into drugs for sleepiness is "very interesting," he cautioned that the long-term consequences of not sleeping were not well-known.

    Both Twery and Siegel noted that it is unclear whether or not treating the brain chemistry behind sleepiness would alleviate the other problems associated with sleep deprivation.

    "New research indicates that not getting enough sleep is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and metabolic disorders," said Twery.

    Still, Siegel said that Americans already recognize that sleepiness is a problem and have long treated it with a variety of stimulants.

    "We have to realize that we are already living in a society where we are already self-medicating with caffeine," he said.

    He also said that modafinil, which is marketed as Provigil by Cephalon and Alertec in Canada, has become widely used by healthy individuals for managing sleepiness.

    "We have these other precedents, and it's not clear that you can't use orexin A temporarily to reduce sleep," said Siegel. "On the other hand, you'd have to be a fool to advocate taking this and reducing sleep as much as possible."

    Sleep advocates probably won't have to worry about orexin A reaching drugstore shelves for many years. Any commercial treatment using the substance would need approval from the Food and Drug Administration, which can take more than a decade.

    See Also:

    Wired’s How To Wiki: Cheat on the Need to Sleep

    Can Software Help You Sleep? We Test Three Snooze Aids

    To Sleep, Perchance to Survive

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Posts
    609

    Default no thanks

    I don't like to mess with my normal body functions. I rarely even drink coffee offshore shorthanded. You would really have to know how you as an individual would respond to something like that. Maybe a lot of personal testing, offshore in a crewed environment instead of trying it solo where you don't know your long term reaction. None for me today, thanks.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Posts
    3,688

    Default

    The treatment is "a totally new route for increasing arousal . . . "
    Well, there's THAT.

    The military, for example, administers amphetamines to pilots flying long distances, and has funded research into new drugs like the stimulant modafinil (.pdf) and orexin A in an effort to help troops stay awake with the fewest side effects.
    Dr. Lou tried Modafinil after it was mentioned at a prior SSS Transpac seminar. I'm pretty sure he elected not to use it during the race. Maybe he'll comment?

    The monkeys were deprived of sleep for 30 to 36 hours . . . the saline-control group was severely impaired.
    Yep, sounds like the SHTP.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Fresno, Boat in Mexico until Spring
    Posts
    37

    Angry Another no-sleep drug

    Isn't modern pharmacy just great !
    There are some polypeptides (also hormones) isolated from the blood of hibernating bears that induce sleep-like hibernation in other mammals. This was research 15 years ago with a vast potential market as the "perfect anesthetic". Its not anywhere near even clinical trials. So you will not see orexin even as a Class II in a Longs Drug for many years, if ever.
    It is fun to fantasize driving your boat at 110% (and faster than the non-users with only autopilots) for 10-15 days. The reality is you will not have orexin for the next 3-4 Transpacs so keep your autopilots running. My personal reality is that I can do better than the autopilot for about 2 hours but for the next 6 the autopilot does much better. My time is better spent charging batteries for the AP, cooking, eating and sleeping so I can make good decisions about sail selection, trim and course.
    I did try modafinil once for a late-night drive from Alameda to Fresno. It kept me awake but I did not feel really good for 2 days afterwards. I have some aboard but would only use it if I had no alternatives and had to drive for 1-2 days just to get help.
    I recall the committee considered banning the drug but that could involve expensive drug testing at the finish. Because of the potential of individual side-effects, alone out there, I would also advise against using it.
    Lou
    Seabird
    aka Dr Lou

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •