Frequent flyers and shift workers could soon have a new lease of life after trial results have shown that the drug tasimelteon can reset the body’s natural sleep rhythm, thus raising hope of a cure for jet lag and shift work-induced insomnia.
For the study 411 healthy individuals went to bed five hours earlier than normal to replicate crossing into a different time zone. Participants were randomly assigned to the melatonin agonist tasimelteon (20, 50, or 100 mg) or placebo, which was administered 30 minutes before bedtime. Results showed that those assigned to the drug enjoyed between 30 minutes and nearly two hours more sleep than those given the placebo.
The authors note that more research is needed to ascertain whether tasimelteon improves daytime performance and alertness.
Rajaratnam SMW, Polymeropoulos MH, Fisher DM, et al. Melatonin agonist tasimelteon (VEC-162) for transient insomnia after sleep-time shift: two randomised controlled multicentre trials. The Lancet. Early Online Publication, 2 December 2008. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61812-7
