Sleep Disorder News and Research

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A sleep disorder (somnipathy) is a medical disorder of the sleep patterns of a person or animal. Some sleep disorders are serious enough to interfere with normal physical, mental and emotional functioning. A test commonly ordered for some sleep disorders is the polysomnogram.

Solving sleep problems helps epileptic children

Sleeping woes may explain why children with epilepsy are often so hyperactive, say researchers with the University of Florida's Evelyn F. and William L. McKnight Brain Institute.

30 Mar 2005

Use of herbal supplements in women is increasing

The use of herbal supplements in women is increasing. Many mothers may also be giving herbal supplements to their children to treat or prevent various illnesses, including asthma, hyperactivity, colds, and respiratory infections.

8 Mar 2005

Pediatric obesity is now recognized as a major medical and health problem all over the world

A consensus statement on childhood obesity was published today in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, one of the four journals of The Endocrine Society.

8 Mar 2005

Possible treatment for Fragile X syndrome

The first evidence for a possible treatment for Fragile X syndrome, one of the leading inherited causes of mental retardation, has emerged from experiments with a mutant fruit fly that exhibits characteristics of the disorder.

2 Mar 2005

CPAP therapy helps control glucose levels among patients with Type II diabetes and sleep apnea

Patients with Type II diabetes who also suffer from obstructive sleep apnea can lower their glucose levels by receiving the most common sleep apnea therapy, a new study has found.

1 Mar 2005

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in snorers

An overnight sleep test is required to distinguish ordinary snorers from persons with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), according to a study in the current issue of Archives of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery.

21 Feb 2005

Obese and overweight patients in a study group reported sleeping less

Insufficient sleep causes neurocognitive changes such as excessive daytime sleepiness, altered mood, and increased risk for work-related injury and automotive accidents, according to background information in the article. It has been reported that the average American is currently getting less sleep than they did a century ago.

10 Jan 2005

Lack of sleep could make you fat

Lack of sleep could make you fat. In an editorial published in the Jan. 10 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, two Northwestern University researchers stress the need to better understand the growing epidemic of obesity in the United States by studying how loss of sleep alters the complex metabolic pathways that control appetite, food intake and energy expenditure.

10 Jan 2005

Restless legs syndrome is underdiagnosed in kids

A new Mayo Clinic study has for the first time established rates of restless legs syndrome in children, finding that almost 6 percent of children seen in Mayo's sleep clinic have the disease.

28 Dec 2004

Race may play an important role in determining a person's obesity and fitness levels

Race may play an important role in determining a person's obesity and fitness levels, shows a new study in the December issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP).

13 Dec 2004

Research suggests that lack of sleep may be contributing to the obesity pandemic

The recent rise in obesity may be partly due to the reduced amount of time we spend asleep, according to new research from the University of Bristol, UK.

6 Dec 2004

Effective management of insomnia begins with recognition and adequate assessment

A seminar in this week’s issue of THE LANCET outlines the common but poorly understood condition of insomnia, concluding that awareness and assessment of insomnia by family doctors is a priority.

29 Nov 2004

Many patients with sleep apnea or insomnia also have attention deficit disorder

People who have difficulty sleeping at night or staying awake during the day may suffer from more than just a sleep disorder.

25 Oct 2004

Surgical remedies for snoring and sleep disorders

Like thousands of Americans, snoring keeps Dr. Kenny Pang awake at night. It’s not his own nocturnal nasal sounds, or those of his wife, that trouble Dr. Pang -- it’s the why behind the sounds.

13 Oct 2004

Children who have problems breathing during sleep tend to score lower on tests of mental development and intelligence

Children who have problems breathing during sleep tend to score lower on tests of mental development and intelligence than do other children their age, according to two studies funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Both studies appear in the October issue of Journal of Pediatrics.

7 Oct 2004

Pregnant women are at higher risk for restless legs syndrome

Pregnant women are at higher risk for the occurrence or worsening of restless legs syndrome (RLS), a movement disorder that affects up to 10 percent of the general population, according to a study reported in the September 28 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

27 Sep 2004