Modalert 200 mg is a non-benzodiazepine stimulant with a lower liability for abuse and fewer adverse effects on cardiovascular systems. It has been clinically evaluated for the treatment of fatigue in a wide range of medical and psychiatric disorders, including multiple sclerosis, idiopathic Parkinsons disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, narcolepsy, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), treatment-resistant depression, and post-anesthetic sedation, with generally positive but mixed results.
It is believed that the cognitive enhancing effect of Modalert is mediated by the inhibition of dopamine uptake in certain brain regions. The vigilance-promoting effects of Modalert are also thought to be mediated by changes in catecholamine levels, with both a and b adrenergic receptors implicated. A reduction in the release of GABA (an inhibitory neurotransmitter) is also a component of this action. The arousal and activity-promoting effects of Modalert are largely unaffected in DAT-knockout mice, suggesting that this drug acts at a site distinct from the dopamine transporter.
In addition to its pro-active effect on central dopamine systems, Modalert 200 mg also appears to increase extracellular serotonin levels in the medial preoptic area and medial hypothalamus of awake rats. In a double-blind crossover study, the arousal-promoting effect of Modalert was associated with an enhanced rate of alternation on a delayed serial alternation task in mice. However, this enhancement was not observed in an analogous task in which the arousal was induced by dexmethylphenethylamine, a central alpha-adrenergic agonist.
In vivo, microdialysis studies in the rat prefrontal cortex and hypothalamus have shown that the vigilance-promoting effects of Modafinil Australiaoccur at concentrations in the brain that are comparable to those of methylphenidate but at much lower dosages. This suggests that a significant component of the activity-promoting effects of Modalert is due to its direct interaction with dopamine synaptic sites.
