Drug Reported to Help People With Alzheimer's Sleep Better

The results of a Phase 3 trial of Merck's insomnia drug suvorexant in people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 71st Annual Meeting suggested the drug improves sleep, with more overall sleep time and shorter bouts of insomnia compared to placebo in test subjects, reports AlzForum . Suvorexant tablets are to be administered half an hour before bedtime, with the drug targeting orexin receptors in the brain. Orexin is generated in the hypothalamus and binds to receptors in several brain areas, and the subsequent signaling keeps a person awake. Suvorexant temporarily blocks this signaling by binding and inhibiting orexin receptors. Certain individuals with Alzheimer's have high orexin levels in their cerebral spinal fluid, and 77 percent of persons treated with suvorexant were found to tolerate the drug well enough to double their doses. At baseline, people on the medication slept an average 278 minutes, versus 274 minutes for placebo users. After four weeks of treatment, subjects on suvorexant slept 73 minutes longer at night, while the controls' nighttime slumber improved by 45 minutes. Treated individuals also were twice as likely as those on placebo to gain an additional hour of sleep.