I wonder what it would for clusters??




Quote:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An insomnia drug that helps the body produce more of the sleep hormone melatonin may improve sleep for jet-lagged travelers and shift workers, researchers reported on Monday. Maryland-based Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. reported on two studies of its drug tasimelteon, also known as VEC-162, that showed it helped patients sleep longer and more deeply than a placebo. They said that people with so-called circadian rhythm disorders could be helped. These disorders are common causes of insomnia that affect millions of people whose activities are out of sync with their internal body clocks. These disorders entail persistent sleep disturbances, insomnia when trying to sleep and excessive sleepiness while trying to remain awake, the researchers said. "...Tasimelteon has the potential for the treatment of patients with transient insomnia associated with circadian rhythm sleep disorders, including people affected by jet lag, or those who work at night, and early-riser workers," they wrote in their report, published in the Lancet medical journal. Dr. Shantha Rajaratnam of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston and colleagues, working with the company, did both Phase II and Phase III trials of the drug, aiming to show it is safe and works. Volunteers slept in labs and were tested using devices known as polysomnographs, which measure sleep activity. Patients given tasimelteon fell asleep faster, had better sleep and woke up faster, they reported. The drug did not cause any more side-effects than a placebo, they noted. Melatonin can fight jet lag too but over-the-counter melatonin products are not regulated, they pointed out, and have not been consistently shown to help treat jet lag and other sleep disorders. The market is potentially large. The study quoted U.S. labor statistics as finding that about 20 percent of the workforce or about 19.7 million U.S. workers are early risers who start work between 2:30 a.m. and 7 a.m. "Most of these people probably experience chronic sleep restriction because they are unable to initiate and maintain sleep when they attempt to sleep in the early or late evening hours. Tasimelteon might alleviate this problem by advancing the sleep-wake cycle, by providing a direct sleep-promoting effect, or both," they wrote. In a commentary, Dr. Daniel Cardinali of the University of Buenos Aires and Dr Diego Golombek, National University of Quilmes in Argentina, noted that drugs such as valium can be addictive. "Shift-workers, airline crew, tourists, football teams, and many others will welcome the results of Shantha Rajaratnam and colleagues' study in The Lancet today," they wrote.

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Sounds like a newer version of Rozerem.  I expect they both work roughly the same as melatonin - you just know exactly what dose you're getting and you're getting pharmaceutical grade with consistent quality in either as opposed to melatonin sold at health food stores and pharmacies.  

Gary was prescribed Rozerem by one of his neuros.  He described it as a "more targeted" version of melatonin.  Here's a 2005 press release re: Rozerem:

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The relevent part:

"Rozerem works by regulating a part of the brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus, or master clock, said Mini. The master clock sends signals to the body that make it feel tired after a certain period of time without sleep. The master clock is influenced by various factors, including the amount of light that it receives through the retinas. Rozerem regulates the master clock when it fails to work properly in insomniacs. "

Perhaps Tasimelteon will do a better marketing job than Rozerem did!

Laurie  :)

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:-X

OK.  Thought I was sharing info.  Not aware of giving advice.  Sorry if I came off as opinionated or overbearing.  Definitely don't know where I claimed to be any expert.  

Laurie

wrote on Dec 1^st, 2008 at 10:53pm:

Laurie, If Gary is chronic?? And nothing works, then just how are you the authority on what works and what don’t? I just wonder how you can be such an authority on CH when you are a supporter. Please don’t let your ego dictate how or where we sufferers will or should seek relief! I’m not saying you don’t do good here, but I feel you are just a tiny bit overbearing. Please in the future do not overwhelm new users to page after page of info that needs to be slowly fed for proper understanding.. Sincerely, Roland.. :)

Forgive me if i am out of line, but i don't see any need for this post.  It strikes me as nothing but mean spirited.
It doesnt take a rocket scientist to read over the board and be able to recite statistics of things we talk about.  Just because Laurie informs newbies about the most common meds doesnt mean she is an authority or egotistical.......it means she is a member of a clusterheadache support group.  
I don't know you Laurie, but I will apologize to you anyway.  That shouldn't have been said and I hope you continue to help people as much as you are willing.


So.  How 'bout that melatonin, huh?
B$

I second BMonee on that.

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:-X

Laurie, I don't see a correlation between Rozeram and this new drug unless you can point to me somewhere in the article you posted where it says Rozeram also helps the body produce melatonin. :-/

Rozerem does not  help the body produce melatonin.

"ROZEREM (ramelteon) is a melatonin receptor agonist with both high affinity for melatonin MT1 and MT2 receptors and selectivity over the MT3 receptor. Ramelteon demonstrates full agonist activity in vitro in cells expressing human MT1 or MT2 receptors, and high selectivity for human MT1 and MT2 receptors compared to the MT3 receptor."
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For CH or insomnia,I would think that those of us that are helped by melatonin would be helped by this drug.

For those of us that melatonin has no effect on,I wonder what effect
the two drugs taken together would have.

wrote on Dec 1^st, 2008 at 10:53pm:

I just wonder how you can be such an authority on CH when you are a supporter.

I'm not going to take exception to this.  I'm not. I'm not. I'm really not going to.

I would never claim to be an authority....and I don't see that Gary's Girl is either.  However, I've managed to learn one hell of a lot out of necessity.....trying to help my chronic husband because he was to beat up and weak to do it on his own.  There have been many helpful posts made over the years by supporters....Margi was a great one.  Supporters do have the ability to study, research and learn even if they don't feel the horrid pain of the beast.

Jackie

Take a deep breath Jackie and count to 10. There, now doesn't that feel better? :P

Melissa wrote on Dec 2^nd, 2008 at 12:16am:

Laurie, I don't see a correlation between Rozeram and this new drug unless you can point to me somewhere in the article you posted where it says Rozeram also helps the body produce melatonin. :-/

Melissa, I have to thank you for posting this!  I don't know where my brain was last night.  You are absolutely right.  Rozerem was just a highly targeted form of melatonin, and the whole point is that the new drug stimulates melatonin production.  I don't know what I was thinking.   [smiley=bag.gif]

Gary's been taking the melatonin for the better part of 2 years now, and it's had no effect on anything - hits or sleep.  I agree - I wonder if the different mechanism of action would make a difference?  His next neuro appointment is a week from tomorrow.  Thanks to you, we're going to ask.  :)

Laurie

Jackie, notice the pic dear :-*

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:)

Thanks, Roland.  :)  I know the pic was for Jackie's benefit, but that made me smile.  (((hugs))))

Laurie

That is funny, Rolo....... :)  You're a sport, Sir.... :-*

Big Hug
Jacks 8-)

Can we all sing  kumbayah now?     ;)


Jackie is so correct.  Her, Margi, and a lot of other supporters absolutely HAD to research information when their husbands couldn't  even LOOK at a monitor.   They had to be there at Dr.'s appointments and advocate for them.  That is NOT to say that the sufferer shouldn't do anything when they can...but it is a wellknown fact that we'd be lost without them in our lives.

Rolo?   I love ya man.  :-*

BMoneeTheMoneeMan wrote on Dec 1^st, 2008 at 11:43pm:

[quote author=7D4C4B5D5758575B5A3E0 link=1228178299/2#2 date=1228189980] I just wonder how you can be such an authority on CH when you are a supporter.

WTF!!!!!  I'm a supporter and certainly not an authority on CH, but I've spent many many hours on the computer researching when my husband couldn't.  I've read and reread most of the things that I printed out.  The reason I did that and still continue to research is so that I can help my husband in any way possible.  When he gets frustrated when the doctors aren't listening to him I can step in.  If he's getting hit at a doctor's appointment I can tell them what is going on.

Okay, now that I got that off my chest I can start singing kumbayah  ;)

ETA - Mel thank you so much for that article.  Being a 3rd shifter and having some problems sleeping during the day lately something like that could also benefit me as well as Phil

Hi Peeps,

getting back on the subject, i read the article and thought that it may be of use to some sufferers. Could they do some trials on Chronic sufferers as i would say that is where you would see any results!! If you have anymore info please add to the post

PFD to ALL ;)