View source for Category:Eugeroics

The '''eugeroics''' are a small class of medicines used to promote wakefulness, prescribed principally for [[narcolepsy]] and other disorders of excessive daytime sleepiness, and increasingly off-label for shift-work sleep disorder, residual fatigue in depression, and as cognitive performance aids. They are distinct from the amphetamine-type [[:Category:Psychostimulants|psychostimulants]]: their activating effect is more selective and less euphorigenic, their effect on heart rate and blood pressure is smaller, and their potential for dependence is generally lower, though not absent.

The class is small and pharmacologically heterogeneous. Three members ([[Modafinil|modafinil]], [[Armodafinil|armodafinil]], and [[Adrafinil|adrafinil]]) share a related mechanism centred on dopamine reuptake inhibition with additional effects on histamine and orexin signalling; modafinil was introduced in France in the 1990s under the brand Provigil, armodafinil is its R-enantiomer (Nuvigil), and adrafinil is the older prodrug that is metabolized to modafinil. [[Pitolisant|Pitolisant]] (Wakix), the newest member, is mechanistically distinct: it is a selective histamine H3 receptor inverse agonist, raising histamine release in the brain to promote arousal.

The word "eugeroic" comes from the Greek ''eu-'' (good) and ''egeirein'' (to wake). The synonymous label '''wakefulness-promoting agents''' is also common in the literature.

[[Category:MedCategory]]
[[Category:Psychostimulants]]
[[Category:Nootropics]]