"Suvorexant Acutely Decreases Tau Phosphorylation and Aβ in the Human CNS"

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SusanJ
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Re: "Suvorexant Acutely Decreases Tau Phosphorylation and Aβ in the Human CNS"

Post by SusanJ »

Veero wrote:anyone catch this?
I read a bit about it. Will be interesting to see a longer term study.
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Re: "Suvorexant Acutely Decreases Tau Phosphorylation and Aβ in the Human CNS"

Post by NF52 »

Veero wrote:anyone catch this?
SusanJ wrote: Tue May 02, 2023 5:30 pmI read a bit about it. Will be interesting to see a longer term study.
Love when we get synergy on topics like this! Based on another poster's question yesterday about his wife's nighttime walking and delirium with later-stage Alzheimer's, I found this encouraging news and thought it made sense to share here also:

Suvorexant (trade name Belsomra®). Suvorexant was approved in the U.S. by the FDA in 2020 for use in people with Alzheimer's-related insomnia.
Here we report four cases in which suvorexant was administered to adjust the sleep-wake cycle in elderly patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) who developed nocturnal delirium...In the present report, suvorexant was administered for the purpose of normalizing sleep-wake cycle disturbances observed in patients with delirium. All four patients with nocturnal delirium successfully fell asleep rapidly after administration of suvorexant, suggesting that the resolution of delirium may be related to the effects of suvorexant on sleep dysregulation
According to the article, the effective dose for these individuals was 15 mg, (half the dose recommended for people over 65 with just insomnia.)
Effect of Suvorexant on Nocturnal Delirium in Elderly Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease: A Case-series Study

Here's an excerpt from a peer-reviewed article by a clinical associate professor of pharmacy, explaining how the drug works.
Suvorexant (MK-4305, Merck), an orexin receptor antagonist (ORA), is the first in a new class of drugs in development for the treatment of insomnia. The tablets promote the natural transition from wakefulness to sleep by inhibiting the wakefulness-promoting orexin neurons of the arousal system... Suvorexant...promotes sleep through the binding inhibition of orexin A and B, neuropeptides that promote wakefulness. Roughly 70,000 orexin neurons are in the human brain, located in the perifornical lateral hypothalamus, which send signals throughout the brain and spinal cor Suvorexant improves sleep onset and sleep maintenance. This unique alternative has a favorable tolerability and limited side-effect profile...The safety profile of suvorexant was favorable in adults younger than 65 years of age (up to 40 mg) and in patients 65 years of age and older (up to 30 mg).
Suvorexant, a Dual Orexin Receptor Antagonist for the Management of Insomnia
4/4 and still an optimist!
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Julie G
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Re: "Suvorexant Acutely Decreases Tau Phosphorylation and Aβ in the Human CNS"

Post by Julie G »

It's interesting that partial or total loss of memory is one side effect and seniors are more likely to be affected making this a tricky. strategy. The safest course of action, of course, is to use a sleep hygiene program with neuroprotective supplements like magnesium, melatonin, etc. as needed.
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