Provigil, also known by its
generic name of
modafinil, is a wakefulness-promoting agent for the treatment of
excessive daytime sleepiness. It is prescribed primarily for the treatment of
EDS in persons with
narcolepsy.
For nearly fifty years, the only medications available to treat narcolepsy were high-abuse-potential, amphetamine-based drugs such as Dexedrine and Ritalin. Unlike traditional stimulants, Provigil does not mediate wakefulness by a dopaminergic mechanism; furthermore, it is (also unlike amphetamine/methylphenidate) highly selective to the anterior hypothalamus, a region of the brain believed to regulate normal wakefulness.