SOLRIAMFETOL - BREAKING NEW GROUND IN THE TREATMENT OF NARCOLEPSY

M. Mark Praveen Kumar, Dr. Pearlsy Grace Rajan, Dr. D. K. Sriram, *Dr. Melvin George

ABSTRACT

Narcolepsy is a chronic, disabling neurologic disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) and, in up to 60% of patients, cataplexy. Despite major advances in our understanding of the neurobiological basis of NT1, management remains nowadays only symptomatic. The main and most disabling symptom, EDS, is managed with psychostimulants, such as modafinil/ armodafinil, methylphenidate, or amphetamines as a third-line therapy. Narcolepsy is an active area for drug development, and new wake-promoting agents have been developed over the past years. Solriamfetol, is a phenylalanine derivative used activity for treating EDS. Solriamfetol is an orally active, selective dopamine and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor that was recently approved in the USA as a treatment for excessive daytime sleepiness (hypersomnia) associated with narcolepsy. Clinical trials showed that solriamfetol could significantly improve the ability to stay awake and subjective symptoms of excessive sleepiness in adults with narcolepsy. Solriamfetol was well tolerated. Very common adverse reactions were headache, nausea, decreased appetite, insomnia, and anxiety. This review summarizes the mechanism of action, pharmacokinetics, efficacy, and safety/tolerability of solriamfetol in the treatment of narcolepsy.

Keywords: Excessive daytime sleepiness; narcolepsy; solriamfetol.