Why carry out this study?

Multiple oxybate medications (sodium oxybate [SXB], sodium oxybate for extended release [SXB-ER], and low-sodium oxybate [LXB]) are approved to treat narcolepsy, a central hypersomnolence disorder.

These medications differ in their dosing regimens (SXB and LXB are dosed twice nightly and SXB-ER is dosed once nightly), but there is no evidence that these different regimens have different effects on disrupted nighttime sleep (DNS) in narcolepsy.

This commentary critically examines the effects of two different oxybate dosing regimens (once nightly or twice nightly) on sleep, sleep architecture, and sleep disruption in key clinical trials in narcolepsy.

What was learned from the study?

While no head-to-head trials exist and the impact of LXB on DNS has not been examined in narcolepsy, SXB and SXB-ER were found to similarly improve DNS across five key clinical trials.

Although once-nightly dosing may be perceived as more convenient than twice nightly, the evidence suggests that once-nightly and twice-nightly oxybate regimens impart substantial and highly similar medical benefit on subjective and objective measures of sleep and daytime function.