Stay-Awake Pill May Get Wider Approval /WHO warns of another SARS outbreak

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A pill used to help narcoleptics stay awake may be approved for others, such

as those on the night shift.

(ArtToday) No Sleep Needed

Stay-Awake Pill May Get Wider Approval

 

 

 

Oct. 9 — A powerful pill that helps patients feel like they got a good

night's sleep, even if they didn't, may soon become more widely available.

 

 

 

 

Modafinil, sold under the name Provigil, was originally approved by the Food

and Drug Administration in 1998 to treat narcolepsy, a serious condition in

which people cannot stop falling asleep.

 

But since its introduction, the number of off-label prescriptions for

Provigil has skyrocketed, with an estimated 80 percent of prescriptions for

the drug going to night-shift workers, truck drivers, pilots and soldiers —

jobs in which it's crucial to remain awake and alert. Now the FDA may

approve it for wider use — a move that has met with some controversy.

 

" In the ethical debate, it's actually unethical for us not to help these

patients, " said Dr. James Wyatt, a sleep disorders specialist at

Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago.

 

The pill has been found to increase both wakefulness and what researchers

call " vigilance, " the ability to stay on task, thinking clearly and

functioning normally.

 

But some doctors fear that the pill may be abused and they worry about the

impacts of long-term use.

 

" It could be used as a substitute for sleep, natural sleep, which we need to

help heal our bodies in specific ways, " said ABCNEWS' Dr. Tim Johnson. " It

allows people to stay awake in ways that are addictive, and if that

addiction is not sated, these people may have withdrawal symptoms. "

 

Culturally Addictive?

 

There is no evidence that the pill produces classical psychological

addiction, Johnson said. However, it is clear that for certain people

staying awake too long and too often can be culturally and socially

addictive.

 

" I think that we are a society that is sleep-deprived already, and I worry

about the temptation to use this kind of pill to assist in staying awake, "

Johnson said. " We ultimately need to respect the deep value of sleep. "

 

Still, the FDA is considering further approval.

 

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WHO warns of another SARS outbreak

 

October 09 2003 at 03:45AM

 

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Brussels - The World Health Organisation (WHO) is bracing itself for another

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak and is setting up a rapid

reaction centre at its Geneva headquarters, the head of the United Nations

agency said.

 

Dr Lee Jong-Wook, speaking at the European parliament, said it was

impossible to be sure how the killer virus would behave in coming months.

 

" Our working assumption is that SARS will come back, " he said.

 

" If SARS is mixed with the common cold and flu this will cause a lot of

problems. "

 

Sars killed more than 700 people and infected over 8 400 this year after

first appearing in China last November.

 

The WHO declared the outbreak over in July. There has been one isolated case

in Singapore since then.

 

Lee said, given the disease had not completed a one-year cycle, it was not

known how it would behave in winter.

 

Developing better diagnostic tests was critical to handling any further

outbreak, he added.

 

Lee warned the world would face many more Sars-like diseases in the 21st

century.