Author J.M. Lanham

J.M. Lanham is an American author of science fiction, suspense, thrillers, and supernatural fiction.

Big Pharma

Researchers discover 7 genes linked to insomnia

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alarm clock next to a woman who can't sleep.
60 million Americans experience chronic sleeplessness. Now, scientists have identified a genetic reason for it.

Last June, an international team of scientists discovered seven genes linked to insomnia—a first in the field of sleep disorders.

For years, insomnia was written off as purely psychological; a condition that was best treated by getting to the heart of what keeps sufferers up at night. The recent finding, however, sheds new light on the genetic side of sleep disorders, essentially paving the way for new treatments for the condition in the future.

In my book The R.E.M. Effect (Nov. 2016), the premise of a pharmaceutical company developing a drug to tackle sleep disorders by addressing genes linked to insomnia sets the stage for the fictional events that transpire throughout the planned series (The second installment, The R.E.M. Project, is set for a winter 2017 release).

The impact genetic research will have on the future of medicine and healthcare has intrigued me since I first learned about The Human Genome Project in grade school. Now, it looks like science is one step closer to addressing insomnia on a genetic level, putting sleep disorders in the same category as other disease processes which have been identified—and may potentially be treated—by using some form of gene therapy.

It’s an exciting time for science and medicine. Let’s just hope life doesn’t imitate fiction.

— J.M.

For more on the real-world genetic research that went into my book The R.E.M. Effect, check out the following links:

Questions and Answers about CRISPR

What is antisense gene therapy? — Huntington’s Outreach Project for Education at Stanford

FDA Speeds Review of Gene Therapies — The New York Times, 11/16/17

How Does the FDA’s Drug Approval Process Work?

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There’s a good reason why Big Pharma cozies up to the FDA.

In the past, your local snake-oil salesman could just fill bottles full of puréed grass clippings and hot sauce and call it a cure-all. Fortunately, the drug industry is a lot more regulated than it used to be.

Highly flawed on several fronts, but still, regulated.

Nowadays, drug companies must go through a rigorous clinical-trial process before obtaining FDA approval. Even then, harmful drugs may fall through the cracks, but at least it’s better than taking the traveling apothecary’s word for it.

When you get a minute, check out this infographic detailing the FDA’s drug approval process. The length and depth of the process may surprise you.

It also highlights the very reason why keeping Big Pharma influence from the FDA is so important.

FDA Drug Approval Process Infographic

Happy Friday!

— J.M. Lanham

A Look at the Drug Behind The REM Series

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Trouble sleeping? Then Asteria Pharmaceuticals has the pill for you.
Advertisement for Ocula featuring a sleeping statue, making insomnia a relic of the past.
Turning insomnia into a relic of the past.

It’s called Ocula, and it’s the pharmaceutical breakthrough of the 21st century. No longer are patients bound by unreliable sleeping medications that only treat the symptoms of insomnia and sleeplessness.

With Ocula, patients are treated at the source of their insomnia, freeing them to experience the perfect eight-hour sleep cycle—guaranteed.

How is this possible? Because Ocula is the first drug in the history of pharmacology to use gene-silencing technology—also known as antisense therapy—to inhibit the genes responsible for chronic sleep disorders.

By binding to your body’s RNA, and then blocking the production of faulty proteins, Ocula keeps the genes linked to insomnia and sleeplessness from reproducing.

The result? A genetic sequence that defaults to the human body’s natural eight-hour sleep cycle.

Say goodbye to tossing and turning through sleepless nights . . . relying on addictive sleeping pills that leave you feeling groggy and tired the next day . . . worrying about trudging through another day at work without sleep.

Isn’t it time you got the quality shut-eye you deserve?

Well now you can. So if you can’t sleep, don’t worry—Asteria Pharmaceuticals has a pill for that.

Ocula: Rest Easy with Us

 

Be sure to check out J.M. Lanham’s pharmaceutical/sci-fi thriller, The R.E.M. Effect, available now on Amazon.com.

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