Modafinil: Difference between revisions

Modafinil is one of the stimulants used medically in the treatment of narcolepsy. It holds the promise of allowing people who suffer from unusual fatigue to remain awake without side effects or impairment of job performance. However it does not live up to this promise in all cases, occasionally producing rashes, intestinal problems and other side effects. The usual prescription is for one pill to be taken shortly after waking; its effects last for most of the day, but do not usually prevent the person from going to sleep at a normal time. It is prescribed under the trade names Provigil &reg and Alertec;.

Dosage varies from 1*100mg pd to 2*200mg pd (the second about 4 hours after waking), and is more effective on naive users. The half-life in the human body is about 15 hours. Of the many side effects documented in double blind studies only headache was statistically significant at an increase of 5%, however a number of other side effects were about 1% higher than the placebo.

The central stimulating effect of modafinil shows dose and time-related features. The effect tends to be enhanced by Chlorination but reduced by methylation. Modafinil blocks the reuptake of noradrenaline by the noradrenergic terminals on sleep-promoting neurons from the ventrolateral preoptic nucleus (VLPO). Such a mechanism could be at least partially responsible for the wake-promoting effect of modafinil.

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• http://www.modafinil.com
• http://www.nootropics.com
• Modafinil synthesis