Monday 9 February 2015

Nuvigil is great to avoid clinical depression

Nuvigil (armodafinil) is an already-existing and FDA-approved drug for the treatment of 'excessive sleepiness' due to narcolepsy, shift work, or obstructive sleep apnea. Its not an antidepressant in any traditional sense. In lieu it's something like a stimulant or a 'wakefulness-promoting agent.'1

So buy nuvigil online nowtreatment. Since sleep issues and lethargy are common complaints of people with depressive signs, its manufacturer was trying to get an add-on approved treatment for depression signs in bipolar I disorder.

Which is a huge deal. Historicallyin the past few years, drug companies have been called on the carpet for designing studies that underestimate the impact of placebo versus medications (or otherwise cloud the results to minimize placebo knowledge).

The news was released yesterday by the drug's researchers at Teva Pharmaceuticals. Nuvigil's final Phase III studies showed statistical significance in 'several important secondary endpoints' (which is drug-speak for 'the massaged knowledge show some significance, but clinically, you'd be hard pressed to find any benefit'). But it failed to show it was any better than a placebo or sugar pill.

And as Teva revealed, they got better in this study at roughly the same rates as those who were taking the actual medication.

Because, as it turns out, the 'placebo effect' ' being treated with an inactive ingredient ' is a huge thing in depression. The amount of professional care receives as well as the simple belief that this pill will help modify one's mood, well, seems to work for some. They get better while taking the placebo.

'While this study demonstrated a numerical improvement, they are disappointed that armodafinil did not reach statistical significance. Teva remains committed to advancing science in serious conditions affecting the central nervous process,' said Michael Hayden, Teva's president of global R&D.

Nuvigil was likely not going to be a blockbuster anyway, because it was an 'add on' drug for the treatment of major depression associated with bipolar I disorder. This is a serious area of concern, but it is not an huge market.

Furthermore, psychiatrists can already prescribe Nuvigil for depressive signs associated with bipolar I disorder as an off-label use. So while not shown to be effective, a psychiatrist can still give it a try if warranted.