Tag

Orexin

All articles tagged with #orexin

business18 days ago•2 min saved

Alkermes bets on orexin ADHD drug as potential game changer

Alkermes reported encouraging phase 1b data for ALKS 7290, an orexin agonist, in 50 adults with ADHD showing meaningful reductions in ADHD symptoms on the Adult ADHD Investigator Symptom Rating Scale and improved Clinical Global Impressions scores after two weeks, with no new safety concerns. A phase 2 trial across three dosing paradigms in four weeks is already enrolling, and plans are in place to test in children, signaling potential expansion of orexin therapies beyond sleep disorders and a possible company-changing product for Alkermes.

via Fierce Biotech|

#adhd #alkermes #alks-7290

science1 month ago•5 min saved

Sleep Waves May Shape Alzheimer’s Course, New Study Finds

A small Neurology study of 60 older adults with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's found higher cerebrospinal fluid orexin levels linked to faster disease progression over three years, while stronger sleep spindle and slow-wave activity during non-REM sleep appeared to mitigate this effect. Women showed higher orexin levels. The study's limitations—a small sample size and no healthy control group—mean results are preliminary, and more research is needed to see if orexin-targeting therapies could influence Alzheimer's by improving sleep and brain clearance of toxic proteins.

via ScienceAlert|

#alzheimers-disease #orexin #science

health1 month ago•40 min saved

Sleep Waves Could Shield Alzheimer's Patients, Study Finds

A three-year study of 60 adults with Alzheimer's found that higher orexin levels are linked to greater cognitive decline, but stronger non-REM sleep activity—specifically sleep spindles and slow oscillations—appears to provide neural resilience, potentially guiding treatments and disease progression monitoring.

via Good News Network|

#alzheimers-disease #health #non-rem-sleep

science1 month ago•5 min saved

Orexin Neurons Tie Reward Expectation to Motivated Action in Rats

A Nagoya University–led study publishing in PNAS shows orexin-producing neurons in the hypothalamus regulate moment‑to‑moment food‑reward motivation in rats: activating these neurons makes animals work harder for food, while inhibiting them reduces motivation, suggesting orexin links reward prediction to sustained action and may inform understanding of human motivation and related disorders, though translation to humans remains to be clarified.

via ScienceAlert|

#hypothalamus #motivation #neuroscience

science1 month ago•7 min saved

Narcolepsy drug targets the brain’s root cause, signaling a new era of therapies

FDA approves Orzeyful (oveporexton), the first drug designed to treat narcolepsy’s root cause by activating orexin receptors, improving daytime wakefulness and nighttime sleep and reducing symptoms like cataplexy; developed from Takeda’s orexin-mimicking compound and showing positive results in two phase III trials with 273 participants, it’s seen as the first in a wave of orexin-agonist therapies that could transform sleep disorders and possibly other neuropsychiatric conditions, with the narcolepsy market projected to reach about $6.4 billion by the early 2030s.

via Nature|

#narcolepsy #orexin #orexin-agonist

science2 months ago•3 min saved

Orexin Neurons Keep Motivation Fueled, Rat Study Finds

Nagoya University researchers show orexin-producing neurons are needed to sustain motivated action: activating these neurons in rats increased how hard they worked for a reward, while silencing them reduced motivation; real-time orexin activity rose with anticipation and higher effort and stayed elevated when a reward was expected but not delivered. Increasing orexin activity beyond normal levels did not further boost motivation, suggesting orexin is necessary but not solely sufficient to enhance motivation. The study used orexin-Cre rats, chemogenetics, optogenetics, and fiber photometry, with potential implications for motivational deficits in depression, addiction, and ADHD.

via sciencedaily.com|

#motivation #neural-circuitry #neuroscience

science2 months ago•6 min saved

Orexin Neurons Gate Sustained Motivation, Study Finds

Nagoya University researchers show orexin neurons are a necessary gate for sustained, goal-directed effort: their activity scales with the required effort, suppression lowers motivation, and boosting activity beyond natural levels does not increase motivation. Using a novel orexin-Cre rat model, chemogenetics raised breakpoints on progressive-ratio tasks while fiber photometry showed anticipation-linked orexin activity that intensifies with effort; optogenetic inhibition reduced motivation, but excitation beyond baseline did not boost it. The findings illuminate how reward prediction drives action and suggest targets for motivational deficits in mental illness, with future work on the surrounding circuitry.

via Neuroscience News|

#motivation #neuroscience #optogenetics

science2 months ago•9 min saved

Orexin Neurons Drive Sustained Motivation, Rat Study Finds

Nagoya University researchers found that orexin-producing neurons help sustain motivated behavior in rats. Activating these neurons increased effort for a food reward, while degeneration reduced motivation. Real-time activity rose during reward anticipation and scaled with the required effort; suppressing orexin activity lowered motivation, whereas boosting it beyond natural levels did not further enhance motivation. The study suggests orexin neurons are necessary for sustained motivation and may link reward expectation to effort, with implications for motivational deficits in mental illness.

via News-Medical|

#animal-model #motivation #neuroscience

business6 months ago•12 min saved

Lilly to acquire Centessa to accelerate orexin-based sleep-wake therapies

Eli Lilly will acquire Centessa Pharmaceuticals for up to $47 per Centessa share (cash of $38 plus a non-transferable contingent value right) in a deal valued at about $6.3 billion upfront with up to $1.5 billion more via CVR milestones, expanding Lilly’s neuroscience portfolio into sleep medicine. Centessa’s lead orexin receptor 2 (OX2R) agonist program, led by cleminorexton (formerly ORX750), targets narcolepsy types 1 and 2 and idiopathic hypersomnia and is supported by additional assets across neurological indications. The transaction is subject to Centessa shareholder and regulatory approvals and is expected to close in Q3 2026.

via Eli Lilly|

#business #centessa #lilly

health1 year ago•8 min saved

Sleep Aids and Their Potential Role in Alzheimer’s Prevention

A study in Nature Neuroscience found that lemborexant, a sleep medication, can reduce brain inflammation and tau protein buildup in a mouse model of Alzheimer's, suggesting that targeting sleep-wake systems might help prevent or slow neurodegenerative diseases. The drug improved sleep patterns, decreased tau pathology, and protected brain structure, especially in male mice, highlighting potential for repurposing sleep drugs as disease-modifying therapies. However, further research is needed to confirm these effects in humans and understand sex differences.

via PsyPost|

#alzheimers #health #neurodegeneration

neuroscience3 years ago•6 min saved

Orexin's Influence on Pupil Size Revealed

Orexin, not the stress hormone noradrenaline, is responsible for regulating pupil size, challenging previous understanding. Orexin neurons affect pupil size in response to emotional states and mental strain, not just light exposure. This discovery has implications for neurological conditions such as narcolepsy and Alzheimer's, offering new diagnostic avenues. It also sheds light on our understanding of consciousness and attention regulation.

via Neuroscience News|

#consciousness-regulation #neurological-conditions #neuroscience