I Want A New Drug

Thank you, Huey Lewis, and frequent fliers may agree. Have you ever experienced "jet lag" symptoms? It's not pretty, and some people deal with it much worse than others. Help may be on the way, though, in the form of a new drug that has shown early success in resetting the body's natural sleep rhythms. In two clinical trials, the drug tasimelteon helped volunteers whose sleep pattern had been delayed to fall asleep faster, and sleep longer. The drug mimics the effects of melatonin, which is a naturally-occurring hormone in humans that regulates the natural human clock, known as the circadian rhythm (not to be confused with a cicadian rhythm, which would be noisy insects having a party) . When the circadian rhythm is disrupted, such as by traveling across time zones, the most common symptoms are insomnia when trying to sleep and excessive sleepiness while trying to remain awake. It turns your body clock into a photographic negative of itself. Melatonin improves the quality of sleep and dulls the awakening signal in the body clock.

The studies on tasimelteon were undertaken by researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and Monash University in Australia. They conducted two trials with 450 volunteers whose sleep patterns had been disturbed by keeping them awake for five hours longer - usually the time difference between New York and London. In both studies, tasimelteon proved to have a positive regulating effrect. The drug could be an alternative to addictive sleep therapies such as benzodiazepines. Melatonin-like drugs only exert a modest sleep-promoting effect, by comparison. If approved, the drug could be on the market within three years.

In the meantime, experts say there are natural ways travelers can combat the effects of jet lag. Here are some to keep in mind before you travel:

>Avoid late meals and alcohol (they're killin' me already)

>Take cat-naps whenever possible (that's a can-do)

>Eat meals on a schedule appropriate for your destination, to prepare your body for time change (I eat ALL the darn time)

>Get a good night's sleep before traveling (Yeah, right)

>Go for daytime walks and get plenty of sunlight (huh?)

>A break/connecting flight on long-hauls can help, though most people want nonstops (I say just GET me there yesterday!)

>Noise-canceling headphones block out cabin noise, and help you sleep (I can vouch for that, plus they ROCK!)

There's a report on USAToday.com about tourism in the Dominican Republic. If you're not sure where that is, it's half of the large island just East of Cuba. Part of the island is Haiti, and the other half the Dominican Republic. Over the last few years, the beautiful beaches of the Dominican Republic (or D.R. as it's known) have made for a super-boom in construction of upscale resorts, most notably in the Punta Cana area. Americans have enjoyed the D.R., and it also brings a flock of Europeans as an easy entryway to The Caribbean. However, in the last year or so, tourism numbers are drastically off. The total number of visitors just between July and October of this year fell by 1.1 million people! That was a drop of 5.6%, but October and November were even worse at 10% dropoff. For people still wanting to travel on a reasonable budget, that spells OPPORTUNITY! There is availability at hotels, and they have promotional rates which can make this an affordable time to experience a luxury resort on the Southeast coast of the D.R. Check with us for rates, and we'll get you booked.

The Nevada Highway Patrol says a drunken driving suspect in Reno was gassed in more ways than one. A 40-year-old Reno woman was arrested early Tuesday after an ambulance crew saw her driving erratically on U.S. Highway 395. Patrol spokesman Chuck Allen said the crew tried to signal the woman after they spotted her green Subaru wagon crossing the center line about 4:30 a.m. but couldn't get her attention. Patrolman Allen said the crew eventually initiated a traffic stop and radioed for state troopers. Upon their arrival, the woman failed a sobriety test and was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence. Initially, it was not her driving that caught the Highway Patrol's attention. Although she was weaving, it was very slight and may not have caused enough of a ripple to draw attention. No, what caught their eye was the fact she was driving down the highway with a fuel nozzle sticking out of her gas tank, trailing approximately 6 feet of fuel hose. Authorities still have been unable to locate the affected gas station, but they are hoping the driver can give them more details when she sobers up.

Attention Casino Owners! You pay your Pit Bosses and Dealers quite well. The waitresses make fabulous tips. NOTE TO SELF: Please increase payroll allowance for proofreaders. That's what I said, proofreaders - particularly those in your Marketing Department. The Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course in Pennsylvania wanted to do something nice for the Holidays, for its top 1,000 customers. They wanted to send them free slot-machine credits. However, instead of the top 1,000, the promotion was accidentally sent to 55,000 people on their mailing list. If everyone claims the reward, the casino could be on the hook for a boatload of money. Hollywood Casino executives decided Monday to partially honor the offer, after frantically calling tens of thousands of customers over the weekend. The mistake was first reported by WGAL-TV, which said some customers had begun trying to take advantage of the offer that went into effect Monday. The reward program was for $100 in slots credits per week from Dec. 1 through Jan. 4, plus two free visits to the buffet at the casino in Grantville, PA. If all 55,000 customers were allowed to redeem $100 credits for five straight weeks, plus two $14 buffet visits, it would cost the casino more than $29 million dollars. In a bid to cut its loss, a casino spokesman said the casino is offering $100 in credits per customer and two buffet passes, if they are redeemed by Christmas. "Rather than say 'Sorry, it was an error,' we've said 'Sorry, let's try to come up with a reasonable redemption plan.' " He said he did not know what might happen if a customer were to insist on the terms of the mailing. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has weighed in, saying it has referred the matter to investigators, to determine whether there were any regulatory violations.

I can already hear those buffet customers..."Waddya MEAN you're out of fresh shrimp?!"