Modafinil for excessive daytime sleepiness in myotonic dystrophy

The authors conducted an open-label trial of modafinil for excessive daytim e sleepiness in myotonic dystrophy. Eleven patients were evaluated: two wer e not treated because of obstructive sleep apnea, and nine received 200 to 400 mg modafinil/day for an average of 16.4 weeks. There were no major side effects. Average sleep latency as measured by the Multiple Sleep Latency T est increased from 7.3 to 22.7 minutes (p = 0.00013), and average Epworth S leepiness Scale score decreased from 13.25 to 7.75 (p = 0.01028). Modafinil shows evidence of effectiveness for excessive daytime somnolence in myoton ic dystrophy and should be investigated further.