BACKGROUND There is growing debate on the use of drugs that promote cognitive enhancement. Amphetamine-like drugs have been employed as cognitive enhancers, but they show important side effects and induce addiction. In this study, we investigated the use of modafinil which appears to have less side effects compared to other amphetamine-like drugs. We analyzed effects on cognitive performances a...

Modafinil is a novel stimulant that is effective in the treatment of narcolepsy and excessive daytime sleepiness. In vitro and in vivo neuropharmacological data suggest that the mechanism of action of modafinil is distinct from that of prototypical abused stimulants like cocaine and d-amphetamine. In the present experiment, six human volunteers with recent histories of cocaine use learned to di...

BACKGROUND Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) or Parkinsonian syndromes often report excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of the psychostimulant modafinil on elderly, institutionalized, severely impaired PD patients with EDS. METHOD A three-week open study on ten institutionalized PD patients scoring >10 points on the Epworth Sleepiness Sca...

Background: Periodic hypersomnias in children and adolescents are described according to etiological groups like: 1) idiopathic the Kleine Levin syndrome (KLS) and its clinical variants 2) organic and 3) other psychiatric conditons. KLS is described as a triad of recurrent hypersomnolence, hyperphagia, and hypersexuality. However, an incomplete presentation characterized by hypersomnia without ...

Modafinil is a synthetic molecule used for the treatment of narcolepsy. Narcolepsy is a neurological disorder, due to which people experience frequent excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS). Nevertheless, there are some concerns about modafnil quality control. The modafinil enantiomers are both biologically active. However, it has been reported that the pharmacological properties of the both enanti...

Modafinil is marketed as Provigil to improve wakefulness in adults with excessive sleepiness associated with narcolepsy, obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome, and shift work sleep disorder. The recommended dose in these disorders in adults is 200 mg/day. Its pharmacological mechanism in improving increased wakefulness is not understood. This supplement provides data in support of a claim f...

Sleep deprivation (SD) is a rapid-acting treatment for depression, but its clinical efficacy is hampered by high relapse rates after recovery sleep, and its effectiveness is reduced by the demanding effort needed for the patient to stay awake. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of a successful treatment of depression with the combination of SD and the wakefulness-promoting agent ...

OBJECTIVE Short sleep duration is associated with impaired glucose tolerance and an increased risk of diabetes. The effects of sleep restriction on insulin sensitivity have not been established. This study tests the hypothesis that decreasing nighttime sleep duration reduces insulin sensitivity and assesses the effects of a drug, modafinil, that increases alertness during wakefulness. RESEARC...

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