New medicine gives hope to Dutch narcolepsy sufferers
Some 8,000 Dutch people suffer from narcolepsy, a sleep disorder that leaves sufferers spontaneously falling asleep during the day. Now,...
Approximately 8,000 individuals in the Netherlands are affected by narcolepsy, a sleep disorder characterized by spontaneous daytime sleepiness. A new medication, Orzeyful (oveporexton), has been approved in the US and is being hailed as the first drug to address the root cause of the disease rather than merely its symptoms. Gert Jan Lammers, a sleep disorder specialist at Leiden University Medical Centre, expressed his enthusiasm, stating that the drug has shown promising results in his trial patients.
The drug works by directly activating the same brain receptor that the body's natural orexin would stimulate, restoring the missing signal that allows the brain to differentiate between sleep and wakefulness. While some side effects have been reported, including increased urination, the long-term effectiveness of the drug remains uncertain.
Lammers emphasized that while the drug is a significant improvement, it does not guarantee perfect results for everyone, and it may not work for an entire day. The drug's approval in the Netherlands is expected to occur by the end of next year.
Written by urgent.news from DutchNews's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
