The US FDA recently approved the use of sodium oxybate for treating cataplexy and excessive daytime sleepiness pediatrics aged 7 to 17 years with narcolepsy. This drug was previously approved in adult patients and now it is approved for pediatric use as well. FDA had already approved sodium oxybate as a central nervous system (CNS) depressant in 2002. It was indicated for treating cataplexy, a sudden muscle weakness accompanied by full consciousness, typically triggered by emotions such as laughing, crying, or terror, in adults with narcolepsy.
Approximately 70% of people having narcolepsy have cataplexy. According to the FDA, sodium oxybate, alone or in combination with CNS depressants, may be associated with adverse events which include seizure, respiratory depression, decreases in the level of consciousness, coma, and death. Sodium oxybate is the sodium salt of gamma hydroxybutyrate…
