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Article: FDA OKs new insomnia drug
- Article from:
- Charleston Gazette
- Article date:
- July 23, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2005 Charleston Gazette. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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WASHINGTON - The government approved a new treatment for insomnia
on Friday, the first prescription sleep aid not designated as a
controlled substance.
Called Rozerem, the drug works differently from its competitors.
Rozerem is chemically related to the natural hormone melatonin,
which helps regulate the body's sleep-wake cycle, and is thought to
work by stimulating melatonin receptors in the brain, explained Dr.
Robert Meyer of the Food and Drug Administration.
"It's another option" for people with the main form of insomnia,
difficulty in falling asleep, Meyer said. "By working through a
different pathway, it's entirely possible that this might work for
some people in ways that the other ...