Insomnia News and Research

Latest Insomnia News and Research

New sleeping pill could be the answer to jet lag

An experimental drug developed by Australian scientists could offer a new cure for jet lag and be a welcome alternative to addictive sedatives such as benzodiazepines.

3 Dec 2008

New drug tasimelteon may cure jet lag

A team of researchers from Monash University, The Brigham and Women's Hospital (Boston), Harvard Medical School and Vanda Pharmaceuticals has found a new drug with the potential to alleviate jet lag and sleep disorders caused by shift work.

3 Dec 2008

Warning of serious side-effects of quit-smoking drug Champix

Australian doctors have been warned about the the quit-smoking drug Champix, according to the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) care must be taken when prescribing Champix (varenicline), because of possible serious side-effects.

2 Dec 2008

FDA accepts Labopharm's NDA for formulation of trazodone

Labopharm Inc. has announced that its New Drug Application (NDA) for the Company's novel once-daily formulation of trazodone (DDS-04A), a serotonin antagonist reuptake inhibitor (SARI), for the treatment of major depressive disorder, has been accepted for review and filed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

24 Nov 2008

Nplate receives positive opinion for marketing authorisation in Europe

Amgen has announced that the European Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has issued a positive opinion recommending marketing authorisation for Nplate (romiplostim) in the European Union (EU).

21 Nov 2008

Pycnogenol cuts jetlag in half

Scientists have found that Pycnogenol, a natural plant extract from the bark of pine trees, can reduce jetlag symptoms by half. Pycnogenol is the patented trade name for a water extract of the bark of the French maritime pine (Pinus pinaster ssp. atlantica), which is grown in coastal southwest France.

9 Nov 2008

Pine bark extract reduces jetlag

A new study published in the journal of Minerva Cardioangiologica reveals Pycnogenol, pine bark extract from the French maritime pine tree, reduces jetlag in passengers by nearly 50 percent.

6 Nov 2008

Insomnia linked to a neurochemical abnormality in the brain

Scientists at the American Academy of Sleep Medicine have linked insomnia to a neurochemical abnormality in the brain.

3 Nov 2008

New obesity drug Tesofensine may have huge potential

According to trials, a new obesity drug, Tesofensine, which may be launched on the world market in a few years, can produce weight loss twice that of currently approved obesity drugs. The Danish company Neurosearch and a number of researchers at the Faculty of Life Sciences at University of Copenhagen are behind the promising findings.

23 Oct 2008

Respiratory sinus arrhythmia is a significant predictor of insomnia in women with breast cancer

A study in the October 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine shows that respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) is a significant predictor of insomnia in women with breast cancer and confirmed that longer nocturnal wake episodes were associated with a flatter diurnal cortisol slope.

15 Oct 2008

Insomnia linked to depression and substance abuse during adolescence

A unique new study has linked adolescent insomnia to depression and substance abuse during adolescence and young adulthood.

1 Oct 2008

Concert Pharmaceuticals initiates CTP-347 phase I clinical trial

Concert Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that it has initiated a Phase I study in healthy volunteers to evaluate the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of CTP-347, a novel deuterium-containing serotonin modulator created by Concert researchers.

25 Sep 2008

Researchers investigate impact of stress on police officers' physical and mental health

Policing is dangerous work, and the danger lurks not on the streets alone. The pressures of law enforcement put officers at risk for high blood pressure, insomnia, increased levels of destructive stress hormones, heart problems, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and suicide, University at Buffalo researchers have found through a decade of studies of police officers.

25 Sep 2008

VA to increase benefits for veterans with mild traumatic brain injuries

The Department of Veterans Affairs on Monday announced it will substantially increase disability benefits for veterans with mild traumatic brain injuries, USA Today reports.

24 Sep 2008

Mom's depression, baby's sleep linked?

If there's one thing that everyone knows about newborn babies, it's that they don't sleep through the night, and neither do their parents. But in fact, those first six months of life are crucial to developing the regular sleeping and waking patterns, known as circadian rhythms, that a child will need for a healthy future.

2 Sep 2008

Neuroimaging links chronic insomnia to reversible cognitive deficits without changes in behavior

A neuroimaging study in the Sept. 1 issue of the journal Sleep is the first to find that cognitive processes related to verbal fluency are compromised in people with insomnia despite the absence of a behavioral deficit. These specific brain function alterations can be reversed, however, through non-pharmacological treatment with sleep therapy.

1 Sep 2008