Improving fatigue and brain fog in POTS: Could Modafinil help?
Channel: York Cardiology
Date: 2020-02-14

Modafinil is an FDA approved medication which is used for excessive daytime sleepiness in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea. It has also been shown to improve cognitive function and mood problems in patients with Narcolepsy. In addition, there is some evidence that it improves symptoms of depression, anxiety and irritability in patients with sleep apnoea. It does this by increasing levels of serotonin and glutamate the brain. The really interesting thing is that in 2014, a group of researchers decided to study this agent in a small group of patients with POTS (Kpayaeh et al) and found that Modafinil at a dose of 100mg did not substantially increase the heart rate or make symptoms worse in patients with POTS which therefore suggested that it could be used in this group of patients.