A Case of Non-24-Hour Sleep-Wake Rhythm Disorder Treated With a Low Dose of Ramelteon and Behavioral Education

Abstract

Non-24-hour sleep-wake rhythm disorder (N24SWD) occurs when the intrinsic circadian pacemaker does not entrain (synchronize) to the 24-hour light/dark cycle. There is currently no established treatment for sighted patients with N24SWD. To the best of our knowledge, there have been very few reports on the efficacy of ramelteon administered to sighted patients with N24SWD. We report the case of a sighted patient with N24SWD whose free-running sleep-wake pattern recorded by actigraphy was stopped after the administration of a low dose of ramelteon combined with behavioral education.