CX717: Preventing sleep deprivation trauma
Intelligent Life 2006 | From A to Zzzzz
Introducing CX717, a drug being developed by Cortex Pharmaceuticals of Irvine, California. It’s the first of what promises to be many aimed at detaching people from the daily routine of eight hours each for work, rest and play.
Tests conducted on rhesus monkeys last year suggest that CX717 can wire users to remain awake for 36 hours without the jitters, euphoria and eventual crash that come after mega-doses of caffeine or amphetamines. Further down the line are even more radical compounds—stimulants that can wipe out sleep for several days at a stretch, and pills that deliver a whole night’s shut-eye in two hours.
More information about the ampakine CX717 can be found here. We previously mentioned the delay match-to-sample performance improvement of monkeys on CX717.
May 23rd, 2006 at 9:38 pm
That’s just unnatural and can’t be good for you.
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So, um, where can I get some?
May 23rd, 2006 at 9:42 pm
Intriguing. I linked back to you guys. You will now get the crushing traffic of the hordes that visit my site. *giggle*
May 24th, 2006 at 7:41 pm
before I was diagnosed with ADD, I used to stay up all night trying to get things done taking large amounts of caffeine (vivarin, coffee, soda, etc). The caffeine that took to stay up also (in retrospect) seemed to help me concentrate. Though I’ve always wondered if the added pressure of the sunrise had a major effect or more of an effect.
It would be nice to try some of this to see how it worked in situations like that.
August 16th, 2006 at 6:31 pm
Dunno if I’d agree with the assertion in the article title that this drug is preventing “trauma”. What the study shows is that some ACUTE cognitive effects of sleep deprivation are prevented. But what about the long-term consequences of sleep deprivation? Perhaps these are even being made worse. See my comment on NeuroWiki:CX717.
September 9th, 2006 at 11:20 pm
CX-717 may potentially radically alter human life. Just think what we as individuals could accomplish if we only required 2 or 3 hours of sleep per night. Like it or not, technology, including drug technology, is going to produce a more efficient human. But will we have the wisdom to use such power wisely?
May 5th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
I’ve been having insomnia for awhile now. However, just recently I was chatting with folks over at the live forever site at http://letslivelonger.blogspot.com/2009/04/sleep-better-you-can-do-it.html and together we worked through some of my scheduling, diet and exercise routines and I am starting to sleep better. Thanks guys!
June 28th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
I think drugs like ampakine CX717 will benefit humanity in many many ways. I think it is great to see progress in this area. I have been on modafinil for the last 3 years for sleep work shift disorder and it has substantially improved my productiveness, vigilance, mood, relationships, intelligence, and quality of life. Modafinil is far superior to caffiene especially since it has far fewer (or no) side-effects. However, I do believe there is great value in learning how to cope with life before using such drugs. I think modafinil should be sold over the counter to individuals age 21 and older. I think people should experiment with such drugs. If they do not like it, they can simply stop taking it. In many ways these drugs are the opposite of the highly addictive street drugs that impair thinking and ruin lives. Furthermore, if such drugs become more available, many people will turn to using these smart drugs instead of the dangerous street drugs to help them cope or reach their full potential. But, since safety comes first, I would like to know more about it’s safety profile and side-effects.