Modarapid, also known by its brand name Provigil, is a central nervous stimulant that has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat daytime sleepiness in individuals who have conditions that include narcolepsy, shift work disorder, and sleepiness caused by medical conditions such as sleep apnea. However, it is also sometimes misused without a prescription.
Plenty of people misuse cognitive-enhancing or psychostimulant drugs in a nonprescription capacity in order to increase productivity, combat fatigue, and help with intellectual challenges. Although abuse of cognitive-enhancing drugs like amphetamine, methylphenidate, and rapidfinil is typically associated with university students—an estimated 7% to 20% of U.S. college students have reported misusing the drugs.
However, it is not uncommon for other groups of people to misuse these drugs as well. For example, 8.9% of surgeons surveyed in Germany reported the nonprescription use of cognitive-enhancing drugs.
Modafinil is supposed to be less addictive than other psychostimulants like amphetamine, but some evidence suggests that dependence and abuse are possible.1 However, modafinil can cause some serious adverse effects and should be taken only when prescribed by a physician.
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