A new drug called CX717 and produced by Cortex Pharmaceuticals has been proven effective at reversing the biological and behavioral effects of sleep deprivation in monkeys and other animals.
In an article in the medical journal 'PLoS Biology,' study leader Dr. Sam A. Deadwyler claims that CX717 can be used to help people working long hours or on the night shift.
In a study conducted on monkeys, those injected with CX717 had their accuracy at recognition tests improved by 75 to 90 percent. The researchers claim that the results of the study show that 'CX717 also facilitated attentional processes related to speed of responding on successful trials.'
When the monkeys were sleep deprived, their performance dropped to 63 percent. CX717 brought the performance back to 84 percent. Brain scans conducted on the monkeys also showed the negative effects of sleep deprivation were also reversed on their EEG readings.
'The fact that (compounds like) CX717 can temporarily alleviate the effects of prolonged periods of sleep deprivation...indicates their potential applicability to many circumstances in which human performance is compromised by extensive sleep loss,' Deadwyler wrote.
He also contends that CX717 is less harmful than caffeine and other stimulants because of the harmful side effects such stimulants can have on the brain and the high doses needed for them to work.
No tests have been conducted on humans as of yet, but researchers are hopeful that CX717 will work well on us as well.
