CORTEX CONDUCTS PRECLINICAL SLEEP DEPRIVATION DRUG STUDY

A drug dubbed CX717, made by Cortex Pharmaceuticals, reverses the biological and behavioral effects of sleep deprivation, according to newly published results of animal studies.

In an article in the research journal PLoS Biology, researchers suggest that CX717 would particularly benefit individuals affected by extended work hours or night shifts. To test this possibility, the researchers taught monkeys to perform a "delayed-match-to-sample task," in which the animals were presented with a single image on a computer screen, then would use a cursor to identify that image in a group of several different images.

During normal alert conditions, performance accuracy of the animals was improved from an average of 75 percent to 90 percent after an injection of CX717. The drug also shortened response times.When the monkeys were subjected 30 to 36 hours of sleep deprivation, average performance accuracy dropped to 63 percent, which was restored to 84 percent after CX717 treatment.