FDA Approves First Drug to Treat Narcolepsy Itself — SkimNews
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- FDA approved the first-ever drug to treat narcolepsy itself, rather than just managing its symptoms
- Narcolepsy has long been the butt of jokes and a comedic plot point, despite being a serious chronic condition
- Julie Flygare, who lives with narcolepsy and founded the non-profit Project Sleep, describes what life with the condition is actually like
- Madeleine Finlay and Ian Sample walk through how the scientific breakthrough behind the new treatment came about
- Flygare frames the FDA-approved drug as a potential "gamechanger" for people with narcolepsy
Why it matters: For people with narcolepsy, prior treatments have only managed symptoms rather than targeting the underlying condition. The FDA's approval of a disease-targeting drug is a category shift in available therapies, and patient advocates like Julie Flygare of Project Sleep frame it as a potential turning point for those affected.
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