Effect of pravastatin on human sleep.
To evaluate the effect of pravastatin, an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, on sleep, the drug or a placebo was administered to 5 healthy adults for 16 days by the double-blind method. Pravastatin caused no changes in sleep parameters. This indicates that it had no effect on human sleep for the following possible reasons: Being hydrophilic, the drug does not readily cross the blood-brain barrier. It does not inhibit prostaglandin D2 synthase, a possible sleep-inducing substance. It was thought that a decrease in the total cholesterol level in the blood has no effect on sleep in healthy adults.
Kamei
Y
Y
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Yamanashi Medical University, Japan.
Shirakawa
S
S
Ishizuka
Y
Y
Usui
A
A
Uchiyama
M
M
Watanabe
T
T
Fukuzawa
H
H
Kariya
T
T
D000328:Adult; D001143:Arousal / Q000187:drug effects; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000187:drug effects; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017286:Polysomnography / Q000187:drug effects; D017035:Pravastatin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012894:Sleep Stages / Q000187:drug effects*; D012895:Sleep, REM / Q000187:drug effects
D002784:Cholesterol; D017035:Pravastatin