Orexin nasal spray shows promise as a treatment for narcolepsy
New research shows that an orexin nasal spray holds promise as a treatment for the sleep alterations and EDS that are common symptoms of narcolepsy. The study, ”The effect of intranasal orexin-A (hypocretin-1) on sleep, wakefulness and attention in narcolepsy with cataplexy” appears in the January 2014 online edition of the journal Behavioural Brain Research. Researchers in Germany studied 14 people with narcolepsy with cataplexy. Subjects received either a nasal spray containing orexin or a placebo. Subjects who received the orexin spray had fewer wake-REM sleep transitions and shorter REM phases than those who received the placebo. Those who received the spray also preformed better on tests measuring attention.