No, I’m not going to ask my doctor about it, but then again…
FDA Approves New Treatment for Insomnia
WASHINGTON (AP) – The government approved a new treatment for insomnia on Friday, the first prescription sleep aid not designated as a controlled substance.
Called Rozerem, the drug works differently from its competitors.
Rozerem is chemically related to the natural hormone melatonin, which helps regulate the body’s sleep-wake cycle, and is thought to work by stimulating melatonin receptors in the brain, explained Dr. Robert Meyer of the Food and Drug Administration.
“It’s another option” for people with the main form of insomnia, difficulty in falling asleep, Meyer said. “By working through a different pathway, it’s entirely possible that this might work for some people in ways that the other drugs do not.”
Nor do studies show any sign that Rozerem, known chemically as ramelteon, causes dependence, the reason it was not designated as a controlled substance.