Sleep News and Research

Latest Sleep News and Research

Targeting noradrenergic system combats gait freezing in Parkinson’s patients

Methylphenidate may be a useful treatment for patients with advanced Parkinson's disease receiving subthalamic nucleus stimulation who experience gait hypokinesia and freezing, show findings from a randomized trial.

14 Jun 2012

Violence affects a child's quality and quantity of sleep

When violence shatters a child's world, the torment can continue into their sleep, according to researchers in Cleveland. The impact is measurable and affected by the severity of the violence, and the effects can last over time.

14 Jun 2012

Viewpoints: Puzzling slowdown in health spending; Court decision could help end businesses' fears about health law

Economists will debate the causes of the great slowdown in health-care spending that's now underway for a long time to come. ... And last year, preliminary government estimates released Tuesday showed, health care spending once again grew at just a 3.9 percent rate.

14 Jun 2012

Investigational Insomnia Medicine from Merck improved patients’ ability to fall and stay asleep according to new phase III Data

Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced new data from two pivotal Phase III efficacy trials for suvorexant, the investigational medicine Merck is developing for the treatment of insomnia. In the studies, suvorexant significantly reduced the time it took patients to fall asleep and increased the time that patients stayed asleep as early as the first night and at the three-month time point compared to placebo. The investigational medicine met statistical significance for all primary endpoints except for one measurement at Month 3 in one of the trials. These late-breaking data were presented here today at SLEEP 2012, the 26th Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies.

13 Jun 2012

Another benefit of CPAP therapy for men with OSA

Men who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are seeing another potential benefit from continuous positive airway pressure therapy, or CPAP: improved sexual function and satisfaction in non-diabetic men under age 60.

13 Jun 2012

Two studies report sleep disparities among Americans based on racial and ethnic background

Two studies scheduled for presentation today at SLEEP 2012 are reporting sleep disparities among Americans based on racial and ethnic background.

13 Jun 2012

Researchers encourage PCPs to screen for OSA in patients with Type 2 diabetes

Researchers in New Jersey are encouraging primary care physicians to screen for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in patients with Type 2 diabetes. They found that in a small sample of clinic patients, the risk for sleep apnea was high among diabetics compared with non-diabetics, and that sleep apnea appeared to be associated with carbohydrate craving.

13 Jun 2012

Depression, obesity two main culprits of excessive daytime sleepiness

Wake up, America, and lose some weight - it's keeping you tired and prone to accidents. Three studies being presented today at sleep 2012 conclude that obesity and depression are the two main culprits making us excessively sleepy while awake.

13 Jun 2012

Children with ASD pay more for health care: Study

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) require an array of specialized health care services. With these services come higher costs for parents and insurance providers. University of Missouri researchers compared costs and types of services for children with ASD to costs and services for children with other conditions like asthma or diabetes.

12 Jun 2012

Sleep apnea may speed-up kidney decline

Patients with chronic kidney disease are commonly exposed to nocturnal hypoxia that may increase the rate of decline in kidney function, Canadian researchers report.

12 Jun 2012

NASA-inspired analysis could anticipate bone loss

Measuring naturally occurring calcium isotopes in urine could indicate whether someone is experiencing bone loss long before traditional imaging methods are able to, say US researchers.

12 Jun 2012

OSA negatively impacts youths’ ability to regulate life skills

The number of children with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) declines as they enter adolescence, but the teen years can be a devastating trial of behavior and learning problems for kids with persistent OSA, new research shows.

12 Jun 2012

Positive airway pressure reduces depressive symptoms in patients with OSA

Patients seen at the Cleveland Clinic Sleep Disorders Center who used positive airway pressure (PAP) to treat their obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) had improvements in their depressive symptoms, even if they followed the prescribed PAP regimen only partly, a new study reports.

12 Jun 2012

Researcher uncovers link between pro athlete's longevity and sleepiness

Coaches, owners and fantasy-league traders take note: Sleep researcher W. Christopher Winter, MD, has uncovered a link between a pro athlete's longevity and the degree of sleepiness experienced in the daytime.

12 Jun 2012

Lack of sleep a hypertension warning sign

Individuals who sleep for 5 hours or less each night are at increased risk for developing hypertension, suggest study findings.

11 Jun 2012

Theramine may reduce chronic low back pain

Physician Therapeutics, Inc., a division of Targeted Medical Pharma, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company that develops and distributes prescription medical foods to physicians, pharmacies and skilled nursing facilities, published results from a clinical trial of the company's proprietary medical food Theramine.

11 Jun 2012

Adult fear of the dark may contribute to insomnia

A small study of Toronto college students is shedding light on a contributing factor of insomnia that might be hard to admit - an adult fear of the dark.

11 Jun 2012

Short sleep periods increase risk of stroke in normal-weight adults

Habitually sleeping less than six hours a night significantly increases the risk of stroke symptoms among middle-age to older adults who are of normal weight and at low risk for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), according to a study of 5,666 people followed for up to three years.

11 Jun 2012

MRI scans reveal how sleep deprivation impairs brain regions associated with food processing

MRI scans from a study being presented today at SLEEP 2012 reveal how sleep deprivation impairs the higher-order regions in the human brain where food choices are made, possibly helping explain the link between sleep loss and obesity that previous research has uncovered.

11 Jun 2012

Study uses brain scans to better understand link between sleep restriction and obesity

The sight of unhealthy food during a period of sleep restriction activated reward centers in the brain that were less active when participants had adequate sleep, according to a new study using brain scans to better understand the link between sleep restriction and obesity.

11 Jun 2012