Sleep News and Research

Latest Sleep News and Research

Restless legs syndrome increases risk of cardiovascular disease

People with restless legs syndrome (RLS), especially the elderly, may be at an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, according to a study published in the April 10, 2007, issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

10 Apr 2007

Weight-lifting exercises during dialysis improves muscle mass, strength, quality of life

Performing high-intensity weight-lifting exercise during dialysis sessions brings meaningful improvements in muscle mass, strength, quality of life, and other important health outcomes in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), reports a study in the May Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

5 Apr 2007

CleveMed completes first virtually attended home sleep study using mobile phone broadband internet service

Cleveland Medical Devices Inc. (CleveMed) announced that it recently conducted the first virtually attended sleep study using mobile phone broadband internet service from a subject's home.

5 Apr 2007

A mild head injury can increase your chance of developing a sleep disorder

Researchers say these findings highlight the need for improved diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders in mild traumatic brain injury patients who complain of insomnia.

4 Apr 2007

Leg pain can mean peripheral arterial disease

David Dow thought he was having back problems, and that his legs were hurting as a result. As it turns out, that pain may have saved his life.

4 Apr 2007

Intensive psychotherapy most effective for treating bipolar depression

Patients taking medications to treat bipolar disorder are more likely to get well faster and stay well if they receive intensive psychotherapy, according to results from the Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for Bipolar Disorder (STEP-BD), funded by the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

4 Apr 2007

Ropinirole reduces "off" time in Parkinson's

Parkinson disease patients taking the drug, ropinirole 24-hour prolonged release significantly reduced their daily "off" time in which Parkinson's symptoms like tremor, slowness, stiffness, and walking difficulty return as drugs wear off, according to a study published in the April 3, 2007, issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

4 Apr 2007

For overweight and obese individuals, the incidence of asthma increases by 50 percent

Asthma, a respiratory disease characterized by recurrent episodes of difficult breathing, wheezing, cough and thick mucus production, affected approximately 20.5 million Americans in 2004. Some common asthma triggers are allergic stimuli, infections, stress or strenuous exercise.

4 Apr 2007

Eli Lilly acquires Hypnion

Eli Lilly and Company has announced that it has completed its acquisition of Hypnion, Inc., a privately held neuroscience drug discovery company focused on sleep disorder research.

3 Apr 2007

Substantial need for mental health services in the general population

First large-scale assessment of the general population shows nearly 30 percent need mental health care and about one-third of them get it.

3 Apr 2007

What makes a simple biological clock tick?

An interdisciplinary team of researchers at Vanderbilt University has analyzed the simplest known biological clock and figured out what makes it tick.

3 Apr 2007

Hot flashes in women linked to high blood pressure

Women who get hot flashes have higher blood pressure than those who don't, according to a new study led by Weill Cornell Medical College.

2 Apr 2007

Cephalon provides update on Nuvigil NDA

Cephalon has announced that it has received an approvable letter, together with draft labeling, from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its new drug application (NDA) for NUVIGIL (armodafinil) Tablets [C-IV] for the treatment of excessive sleepiness associated with narcolepsy, obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) and shift work sleep disorder (SWSD).

2 Apr 2007

New insights into melatonin production

In the April 1 issue of G&D, a Korean research team led by Dr. Kyong-Tai Kim (Pohang University) describes how melatonin production is coordinated with the body's natural sleep/wake cycles.

2 Apr 2007

Total sleep time affects morning testosterone levels

The testosterone levels of healthy men decline as they get older. As sleep quality and quantity typically decrease with age, objectively measured differences in the amount of sleep a healthy older man gets can affect his level of testosterone in the morning, according to a study published in the April 1st issue of the journal SLEEP.

2 Apr 2007

Fragmented sleep increases spontaneous pain in women

Sleep continuity disturbance impairs endogenous pain-inhibitory function and increases spontaneous pain in women

2 Apr 2007

Actigraphy helps assess and manage sleep disorders

Actigraphy, the use of a portable device that records movement over extended periods of time, and has been used extensively in the study of sleep and circadian rhythms, provides an acceptably accurate estimate of sleep patterns in normal, healthy adult populations and in-patients suspected of certain sleep disorders, according to practice parameters published in the April 1st issue of the journal SLEEP.

2 Apr 2007

Circadian genes may be involved in bipolar disorder

Disrupt the gene that regulates the biological clocks in mice and they become manic, exhibiting behaviors similar to humans with bipolar disorder, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found.

25 Mar 2007

Treating sleep apnea with continuous positive airway pressure reduces incidence of stroke

Patients with moderate to severe sleep apnea who have significantly higher serum levels of inflammatory markers that serve as precursors to coronary artery disease, as well as lesions associated with silent brain infarction, have an elevated risk of stroke, according to a group of Japanese medical researchers.

19 Mar 2007

Sedative-hypnotic drugs to get stronger warning labels

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has requested that all manufacturers of sedative-hypnotic drug products, a class of drugs used to induce and/or maintain sleep, strengthen their product labeling to include stronger language concerning potential risks.

14 Mar 2007