Doctors take Armodafinil

Is Armodafinil recommended for doctors?

Armodafinil is an analeptic that is widely used among people who suffer from sleepiness associated with cases of narcolepsy disease. The medicine is highly recommended in the US by the FDA but European Medicines Agency recommends limiting new appointments of medications containing this drug for narcolepsy cases only, because of the risk of neuropsychiatric, skin and allergic side effects. At the same time, as these side effects are often noticed in the first two weeks of taking the drug, its usage is as not limited. Popularity of the usage of the medication as off-label is increasing as it is a relatively safe stimulant.

In addition to this information, the drug is recommended in some countries by state regulatory agencies by the treatment of idiopathic hypersomnia (pathological daytime sleepiness, the reasons of which are not exactly diagnosed). By the treatment of such hypersomnia associated with narcolepsy disease and obstructive sleep apnea it is highly recommended taking the drug one dose of 200 mg in the morning. But single taking of 400 mg does not significantly increase the effectiveness compared with a dose of 200 mg. People can easily buy Armodafinil or order Armodafinil online without the prescription of a doctor.

Colin Sugden from Imperial College of London (UK) and his colleagues suggested doctors taking a drug that fights fatigue, saying that in this case, doctors will work more efficiently. That is a very interesting twist for scientific ethics, is not it? Doctors, like many others, actively rely on stimulators like caffeine and nicotine when working. Researchers have just decided to check whether you can benefit from something stronger such as Generic Armodafinil. This medication is used to treat sleep disorders. How exactly the drug affects the brain is unknown. It is estimated that it affects certain parts of the hypothalamus that are responsible for awakening.

The scientists got 39 male doctors, deprived of a night's sleep, and divided them into two groups – those who took Armodafinil and the control one. Then the volunteers were tested for cognitive activity. Furthermore, they were tested on a surgical simulator. Neither the participants nor the researchers themselves knew who from doctors received the drug. The group, which was given the medication scored higher than the control one: working memory by its representatives functioned better; they were more effectively planning their actions and rarely took impulsive decisions.

However, surgical skills were not improved. Mr. Sugden said that the study was very, very preliminary. "It is not still clear what relation the good test results have to the job of a doctor". As to the ethics, the scientist emphasizes: "We have fulfilled our - academic - part. The rest is the matter of discussions". The European Union directive of 2009 states that young doctors should not work more than 48 hours a week and should have at least 11 consecutive hours a day.

Before this directive it was considered normal to work for sixty and a hundred hours a week. Nevertheless, there remain a number of problems. For example, in 2007 it became clear that the night shift doctors make three times more mistakes leading to patient death than those ones with a normal schedule. On the other hand, in 2004, a study conducted in New York, showed that the reduction of working hours of doctors had no effect on mortality from congestive heart failure and pneumonia.