Sleep improvement in dogs after oral administration of mioflazine, a nucleoside transport inhibitor

Mioflazine, a nucleoside transport inhibitor, was given PO to dogs at doses of 0.04-10 mg/kg. Sixteen hour polygraphic sleep recordings were made and analysis and sleep stage classification was done by computer. Mioflazine decreased wakefulness and increased slow wave sleep, but did not affect the latencies of either REM sleep or slow wave sleep. This increased sleep was due to an increase in the number of light and deep slow wave sleep epochs. The effect lasted for about 8 h. The decreased wakefulness and increased slow wave sleep could be antagonized by the adenosine antagonist caffeine (2.5 and 10 mg/kg, PO); however, there was not a pure antagonistic effect. It might be that the enhancement of slow wave sleep is due to an activation of brain adenosine receptors. This is the first report of a drug acting on adenosine that given orally improves sleep. Mioflazine might be the prototype of substances worth considering for the treatment of a variety of sleep disorders.