Side effects of insomnia drugs

A study of 30 healthy men, 20-40 years old, suggests that 2 drugs for insomnia treatment, the GABA receptor agonist brotizolam and the orexin receptor antagonist suvorexant, had comparable effects on sleep time, efficiency, and latency after forced awakening, compared with placebo, but that following forced awakening, suvorexant led to significantly less balance impairment than did brotizolam, indicating that orexin receptor antagonists may have fewer side effects than commonly prescribed hypnotic agents.

###

Article #19-07354: “Distinct effects of orexin receptor antagonist and GABAA agonist on sleep and physical/cognitive functions after forced awakening,” by Jaehoon Seol et al.

MEDIA CONTACT: Masashi Yanagisawa, University of Tsukuba, JAPAN; tel: +81-29-853-3301, +81-90-9825-7066; e-mail:

[email protected]