Orexin Receptor Antagonism for Treatment, Article Review Example

The objective of this study is to determine whether the orexin receptor, which is responsible for keeping people awake, could be treated with antagonistic substances to treat sleep deprivation. This is a phase I randomized double-blind clinical trial. All cases were used as their own controls. During the first period of the trial, participants were given a medication known as suvorexant that functions as an orexin receptor antagonist. During this period of time, they were observed for symptoms related to insomnia, as measured by sleep efficiency. Polysomnography was performed. During the second period of the trial, the same participants who had been given medication were given a placebo and they were observed for symptoms related to insomnia. Polysomnography was performed as well.

The results indicated that when the patients were given suvorexant, they head less insomnia symptoms compared to the placebo. Furthermore, the participants who were given larger doses had a more efficient night’s rest compared to those who had been given smaller doses. Furthermore, the results indicated that suvorexant had low toxicity. The author concluded that orexin antagonism is an effective method for treating insomnia. While the results appear to be trust worthy, this concept would be more trusted if the authors were to have used additional orexin receptor antagonists. This would be a useful concept to validate because it is possible that suvorexant is not the best possible orexin antagonist for this application. It would be beneficial for the authors to follow up with a study that tests additional orexin reception antagonists in the same manner that this initial study was conducted, which will eventually lead to FDA approval for insomnia treatment.