GABA and its receptors' mechanisms in the treatment of insomnia

Insomnia has now become a major health problem of global concern, with about 1/3 of the population suffering from sleep problems, a proportion that is still rising year by year. Most of the therapeutic drugs for insomnia currently used in clinical practice are not developed in a targeted manner, but are discovered by chance, and have unavoidable side effects such as addiction. Finding a safer and more effective therapeutic drug has become an urgent need for current research. Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. It can ameliorate Insomnia, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Epilepsy, and other neurological disorders. Various mechanisms have been reported for GABA to ameliorate insomnia, such as GABAA receptor modulation, GABAB receptor modulation, inhibition of neuroinflammatory responses, repair of oxidative damage, and inter-regulation of the circadian rhythm hormone melatonin. GABA is a potential therapeutic target in the prevention and treatment of insomnia. This paper reviews mechanisms of GABA and its receptors in insomnia diseases and the potential of GABA analogs application and discusses the research progress of GABA as a promising therapeutic drug for insomnia diseases. This will help the development of novel targeted GABA-like drugs and provide new ideas and methods for the clinical treatment of insomnia.