MINNEAPOLIS, Minn., June 14 -- Sleep specialists here reviewed the problems and alternatives for treating insomnia.

"We have always been able to get a person to sleep," said David Neubauer, M.D., of Johns Hopkins. "We have been able to get people to sleep since the ancient Greeks. The problem has always been to get them awake again."

"But there is a tremendous array of new products coming that will allow us to not only treat large numbers of people with safer products, but will also allow us to find specific products that may be perfect for specific patients," he told listeners at an industry-sponsored symposium held in conjunction with the Associated Professional Sleep Societies meeting.

"As our understanding of the fundamental process regarding the sleep-wake cycle evolves, new pharmacologic targets will be revealed," he said.