Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Paging Dr. Gupta: Stay-Awake Pill

Aired September 25, 2003 - 08:46   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Medical news now. They're not offering it as a substitute for sleep, but the maker of a pill that helps people stay awake hopes the government regulators will OK wider use of the drug.
More details now, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. We find him in the windy city this morning in Chicago.

Hey, Sanjay, good morning.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.

Yes, the drug is called Provigil, which is a great name, Provigil. It's been around actually for some time now. The drug actually -- when you think about sleep, you think about using drugs to actually help you fall asleep, but if you're not getting sleep, perhaps using drugs to help you stay better awake during the day following a restless night of sleep. Those are the two sorts of drugs out there. This falls into that latter category, sort of helping you stay awake.

Now, the drug has been around for some time, as I mentioned. I actually learned about this when I was over in Iraq. It was being tossed around as a possible drug to help pilots stay awake during long flights. And it's also being used now for narcolepsy.

What is happening today is that there's going to be an FDA advisory committee that's going to suggest that it also be used for these uses: for shift workers, for people who have obstructive sleep apnea -- that's people who have a breathing difficulty that keeps them up at night -- MS as well, and insomnia.

The biggest thing about this drug, though, and I think what people are really rallying behind is the fact that it's not a stimulant. This is not a stimulant. In fact, the side effects are saying that they're actually less than that of even caffeine. We're going to find out about this decision today -- Bill.

HEMMER: A couple of things here. Medically, how does it work? And also, how does it compare with other drugs that are out there now?

GUPTA: It seems to work very well compared to other drugs out there in terms of keeping people awake, keeping people awake for hours at a time without the feelings of grogginess.

Take a look at this animation to get a sense of actually how it works. We're talking about a very focused area of the brain. If you look at the brain, there is one specific area that really is responsible for sleep. That's sort of at the base of the brain here.

What's unique about this drug, as compared to a lot of other drugs is that it appears to work just there, as opposed to globally affecting the brain, which some other drugs do, making people feel groggy or making people feel overly stimulated/jittery -- Bill.

HEMMER: You mentioned side effects. Are there any? Do you feel groggy?

GUPTA: Well, there are some side effects, as there are with any drug, although the side effects of this drug appear to be pretty minimal. Take a look at the list there: headaches, nausea, infection, possibly nervousness, anxiety, insomnia. But limited numbers of any of those things, not a combination. Obviously that sounds pretty bad. But it appears to be a limited number of these things.

All of the experts are saying this is potentially a great drug in terms of actually keeping people awake, again that balance, Bill. And it's an expensive drug. It's about $7 a pill right now. So, it's not going to be cheap.

If this gets approved, if the FDA goes ahead and approves this, this may be something covered by insurance plans for certain uses -- Bill.

HEMMER: Got it. Thank you, Sanjay. Enjoy Chicago while you're there. Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.






Aired September 25, 2003 - 08:46   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Medical news now. They're not offering it as a substitute for sleep, but the maker of a pill that helps people stay awake hopes the government regulators will OK wider use of the drug.
More details now, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. We find him in the windy city this morning in Chicago.

Hey, Sanjay, good morning.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.

Yes, the drug is called Provigil, which is a great name, Provigil. It's been around actually for some time now. The drug actually -- when you think about sleep, you think about using drugs to actually help you fall asleep, but if you're not getting sleep, perhaps using drugs to help you stay better awake during the day following a restless night of sleep. Those are the two sorts of drugs out there. This falls into that latter category, sort of helping you stay awake.

Now, the drug has been around for some time, as I mentioned. I actually learned about this when I was over in Iraq. It was being tossed around as a possible drug to help pilots stay awake during long flights. And it's also being used now for narcolepsy.

What is happening today is that there's going to be an FDA advisory committee that's going to suggest that it also be used for these uses: for shift workers, for people who have obstructive sleep apnea -- that's people who have a breathing difficulty that keeps them up at night -- MS as well, and insomnia.

The biggest thing about this drug, though, and I think what people are really rallying behind is the fact that it's not a stimulant. This is not a stimulant. In fact, the side effects are saying that they're actually less than that of even caffeine. We're going to find out about this decision today -- Bill.

HEMMER: A couple of things here. Medically, how does it work? And also, how does it compare with other drugs that are out there now?

GUPTA: It seems to work very well compared to other drugs out there in terms of keeping people awake, keeping people awake for hours at a time without the feelings of grogginess.

Take a look at this animation to get a sense of actually how it works. We're talking about a very focused area of the brain. If you look at the brain, there is one specific area that really is responsible for sleep. That's sort of at the base of the brain here.

What's unique about this drug, as compared to a lot of other drugs is that it appears to work just there, as opposed to globally affecting the brain, which some other drugs do, making people feel groggy or making people feel overly stimulated/jittery -- Bill.

HEMMER: You mentioned side effects. Are there any? Do you feel groggy?

GUPTA: Well, there are some side effects, as there are with any drug, although the side effects of this drug appear to be pretty minimal. Take a look at the list there: headaches, nausea, infection, possibly nervousness, anxiety, insomnia. But limited numbers of any of those things, not a combination. Obviously that sounds pretty bad. But it appears to be a limited number of these things.

All of the experts are saying this is potentially a great drug in terms of actually keeping people awake, again that balance, Bill. And it's an expensive drug. It's about $7 a pill right now. So, it's not going to be cheap.

If this gets approved, if the FDA goes ahead and approves this, this may be something covered by insurance plans for certain uses -- Bill.

HEMMER: Got it. Thank you, Sanjay. Enjoy Chicago while you're there. Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.