Wakefulness-promoting agent

Last updated
Wakefulness-promoting agent
Drug class
Modafinil.svg
The chemical structure of modafinil, a widely used wakefulness-promoting agent
Class identifiers
Synonyms Wakefulness-promoting agent; Wakefulness-promoting drug; Wakefulness promoting medication; Wake-promoting agent; Wake-promoting drug; Wake-promoting medication; WPA
UseTo increase wakefulness and arousal, to reduce sleepiness and sedation
Legal status
In Wikidata

A wakefulness-promoting agent (WPA), or wake-promoting agent, is a drug that increases wakefulness and arousal. [1] [2] [3] They are similar to but distinct from psychostimulants, which not only promote wakefulness but also produce other more overt central nervous system effects, such as improved mood, energy, and motivation. [1] [4] Wakefulness-promoting agents are used to treat narcolepsy and hypersomnia as well as to promote wakefulness and increase performance in healthy people. [5] [6] [7]

A variety of different classes of drugs have shown wakefulness-promoting effects, including: [8] [5] [3] [9]

Histamine and other histamine H1 receptor agonists also have wakefulness-promoting effects. [9] [17] [18] However, H1 receptor agonists as drugs are limited by their mediation of allergy-type symptoms. [18]

Certain other drugs are being studied as wakefulness-promoting agents as well, including GABAA receptor antagonists and negative allosteric modulators like clarithromycin, flumazenil, and pentylenetetrazol (pentetrazol), among others. [19]

Aside from the above-described wakefulness-promoting agents, the GHB and GABAB receptor agonist sodium oxybate or γ-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) has been used in the treatment of narcolepsy. [20] [8] [5] [3] Relatedly, some researchers have classified this drug as a stimulant-like agent. [20] However, GHB is taken at night and only results in improved wakefulness the next day following sleep. [20]

The related term "eugeroic" (or "eugregoric") means "vigilance-promoting". [5] It was introduced in 1987 in the French literature and has been used as an alternative term to refer to wakefulness-promoting drugs and to distinguish them from psychostimulants. [5] However, the term has usually been used to refer specifically to modafinil and its analogues, even to the exclusion of other wakefulness-promoting agents. [5] [21] [22] Moreover, the term has not been widely adopted in the scientific literature. [5] The discovery of wakefulness-promoting neurons and the orexin neuropeptides has prompted a terminological shift away from the concept of "vigilance-promoting" to "wakefulness-promoting". [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neurotransmitter</span> Chemical substance that enables neurotransmission

A neurotransmitter is a signaling molecule secreted by a neuron to affect another cell across a synapse. The cell receiving the signal, or target cell, may be another neuron, but could also be a gland or muscle cell.

A dopamine reuptake inhibitor (DRI) is a class of drug which acts as a reuptake inhibitor of the monoamine neurotransmitter dopamine by blocking the action of the dopamine transporter (DAT). Reuptake inhibition is achieved when extracellular dopamine not absorbed by the postsynaptic neuron is blocked from re-entering the presynaptic neuron. This results in increased extracellular concentrations of dopamine and increase in dopaminergic neurotransmission.

Histamine H<sub>3</sub> receptor Mammalian protein found in Homo sapiens

Histamine H3 receptors are expressed in the central nervous system and to a lesser extent the peripheral nervous system, where they act as autoreceptors in presynaptic histaminergic neurons and control histamine turnover by feedback inhibition of histamine synthesis and release. The H3 receptor has also been shown to presynaptically inhibit the release of a number of other neurotransmitters (i.e. it acts as an inhibitory heteroreceptor) including, but probably not limited to dopamine, GABA, acetylcholine, noradrenaline, histamine and serotonin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phenylpiracetam</span> Chemical compound

Phenylpiracetam, also known as fonturacetam and sold under the brand names Phenotropil, Actitropil, and Carphedon among others, is a stimulant and nootropic medication used in Russia and certain other Eastern European countries in the treatment of cerebrovascular deficiency, depression, apathy, and attention, and memory problems, among other indications. It is also used in Russian cosmonauts to improve physical, mental, and cognitive abilities. The drug is taken by mouth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dopaminergic</span> Substance related to dopamine functions

Dopaminergic means "related to dopamine", a common neurotransmitter. Dopaminergic substances or actions increase dopamine-related activity in the brain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amineptine</span> Widely withdrawn tricyclic antidepressant

Amineptine, formerly sold under the brand name Survector among others, is an atypical antidepressant of the tricyclic antidepressant (TCA) family. It acts as a selective and mixed dopamine reuptake inhibitor and releasing agent, and to a lesser extent as a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nomifensine</span> Group of stereoisomers

Nomifensine, sold under the brand names Merital and Alival, is a norepinephrine–dopamine reuptake inhibitor (NDRI), i.e. a drug that increases the amount of synaptic norepinephrine and dopamine available to receptors by blocking the dopamine and norepinephrine reuptake transporters. This is a mechanism of action shared by some recreational drugs like cocaine and the medication tametraline (see DRI). Research showed that the (S)-isomer is responsible for activity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ciproxifan</span> Chemical compound

Ciproxifan is an extremely potent histamine H3 inverse agonist/antagonist.

An H3 receptor antagonist is a type of antihistaminic drug used to block the action of histamine at H3 receptors.

Pitolisant, sold under the brand name Wakix among others, is a medication used for the treatment of excessive daytime sleepiness in adults with narcolepsy. It is an inverse agonist of the histamine 3 (H3) receptor (an antihistamine drug specific to that kind of receptors). It represents the first commercially available medication in its class, so that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) declares it a first-in-class medication. Pitolisant enhances the activity of histaminergic neurons in the brain that function to improve a person's wakefulness. It was approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in March 2016 for narcolepsy with or without cataplexy, and for excessive daytime sleepiness by the FDA in August 2019. The most common side effects include difficulty sleeping, nausea, and feeling worried.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norepinephrine releasing agent</span> Catecholaminergic type of drug

A norepinephrine releasing agent (NRA), also known as an adrenergic releasing agent, is a catecholaminergic type of drug that induces the release of norepinephrine (noradrenaline) and epinephrine (adrenaline) from the pre-synaptic neuron into the synapse. This in turn leads to increased extracellular concentrations of norepinephrine and epinephrine therefore an increase in adrenergic neurotransmission.

A dopamine releasing agent (DRA) is a type of drug which induces the release of dopamine in the body and/or brain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eugeroic</span> Drug for wakefulness and alertness

A eugeroic, or eugregoric, also known as a vigilance-promoting agent, is a type of drug that increases vigilance. The term has been used inconsistently and in multiple ways in the scientific literature, either to refer specifically to modafinil-type wakefulness-promoting agents or to refer to wakefulness-promoting agents generally. It was first introduced in the French literature in 1987 as a descriptor for modafinil-like wakefulness-promoting drugs and for purposes of distinguishing such drugs from psychostimulants. However, the term "eugeroic" has not been widely adopted in the literature, and instead the term "wakefulness-promoting agent" has been more widely used, both for modafinil-type drugs and other agents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norepinephrine–dopamine reuptake inhibitor</span> Drug that inhibits the reuptake of norepinephrine and dopamine

A norepinephrine–dopamine reuptake inhibitor (NDRI) is a drug used for the treatment of clinical depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), narcolepsy, and the management of Parkinson's disease. The drug acts as a reuptake inhibitor for the neurotransmitters norepinephrine and dopamine by blocking the action of the norepinephrine transporter (NET) and the dopamine transporter (DAT), respectively. This in turn leads to increased extracellular concentrations of both norepinephrine and dopamine and, therefore, an increase in adrenergic and dopaminergic neurotransmission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solriamfetol</span> Medication used for the treatment of excessive sleepiness

Solriamfetol, sold under the brand name Sunosi, is a wakefulness-promoting medication used in the treatment of excessive sleepiness related to narcolepsy and sleep apnea. It is taken by mouth.

Samelisant (INNTooltip International Nonproprietary Name; developmental code name SUVN-G3031) is an experimental wakefulness-promoting agent acting as a selective histamine H3 receptor inverse agonist which is under development for the treatment of narcolepsy. It was also under development for the treatment of cognition disorders and Parkinson's disease, but no recent development has been reported for these indications. As of June 2024, samelisant is in phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of narcolepsy.

References

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