ts. The results, Panda says, show that the drug is stopping melanopsin from signaling the brain when the eyes are exposed to bright light.
"So far, everything known about melanopsin has been discovered using knock-out mice that completely lack the receptor," says Panda. "So this offers a new way to study the protein." Kenneth Jones, the former project head at Lundbeck, notes that "the two compounds require further optimization in anticipation of clinical testing but are extraordinarily useful for research purposes and as leads in the discovery process." Co-author Jeffrey Sprouse has co-founded a start-up company, Cyanaptic, to do just that.
Once more effective compounds are developed, Panda expects that they could eventually have utility in a variety of clinical settings. "There are many people who would like to work when they have migraine pain exacerbated by light," he says. "If these drugs could stop the light-sensitivity associated with the headaches, it would enable them to be much more productive."
Moreover, Panda says, the drugs could help shift-workers set their sleep schedules without exposure to sunlight interfering with their circadian rhythms. His lab group doesn't yet have results on how the drugs affect circadian rhythms, but based on the known mechanisms of melanopsin, Panda says that it is likely the new opsinamides alter sleep.