Orexin antagonists are a new class of sleeping drugs. Orexin is a neurotransmitter that maintains wakefulness, and when its activity decreases, the body will naturally go to sleep.
Compared with traditional sleeping drugs (e.g. benzodiazepines), antiscorbutin drugs are less dependent and less disruptive to sleep structure. However, some users may experience side effects such as increased dreaming, drowsiness, or abnormal nighttime behavior, and are advised to use them under the supervision of a physician.
Orexin Antagonists Pills on Market
There are currently three appetite hormone receptor blockers on the market, including Merck Sharp & Dohme’s Suvorexant, Eisai’s Lemborexant, and Daridorexant co-developed by Actelion & Idorsia & Mochida.
Clinical trials have shown that suvorexant significantly improves patients’ subjective time to sleep, total sleep time, sleep quality, and prolongs REM sleep duration. Additionally suvorexant has been shown to treat insomnia in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, and subjective sleep therapy for acute stroke patients did not trigger delirium.
