Sleep News and Research

Latest Sleep News and Research

Depression appears to be a major cause of insomnia in people with HIV

Patients in the last stages of HIV infection with full-blown AIDS and those who have suffered some kind of brain impairment as a result of the disease are also more likely to suffer from insomnia, the reviewers conclude in the current issue of Psychosomatic Medicine.

22 Mar 2005

Patients with chronic fatigue syndrome respond to placebos at a lower rate

Contrary to conventional wisdom, patients with chronic fatigue syndrome respond to placebos at a lower rate than people with many other illnesses, according to the first systematic review of the topic.

22 Mar 2005

New contact lenses cause less infections

Sleeping with your contact lenses in can give you a nasty eye infection (keratitis), but now a new generation of silicone hydrogel lenses cuts that risk fivefold, according to research in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

21 Mar 2005

A new method for analysing the therapy process

In clinical settings, therapy processes are complex dynamical systems where several variables are constantly interacting with each other. In general, the underlying mechanisms are difficult to assess.

21 Mar 2005

Obstructive sleep apnoeahypopnoea increases risk of heart attacks

Men with a severe form of a sleep breathing disorder called obstructive sleep apnoeahypopnoea have an increased risk of fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular events, concludes a study published in this week’s issue of The Lancet.

21 Mar 2005

Sleep deprivation also has impact on national health

Work-related sleeping disorders have proliferated rapidly in recent years with increases in occupational stress and abnormal working hours.

16 Mar 2005

Lack of sleep activates the body’s defence mechanisms

A lack of sleep is considered a threat situation, which activates the body’s defence mechanisms. This is the same type of response that protects the body against viruses and bacteria as well as in stress situations.

16 Mar 2005

Cancer survival comes at its own price

Patients who hear the dreaded words "you have cancer" invariably look forward to the day the doctor tells them "you're cured." But University of Florida researchers say survival often comes at its own price -- the mind may need mending even after the body heals.

16 Mar 2005

Radiography used to identify teens with sleep apnea

Fifteen percent of all teenagers in the United States undergo orthodontic treatment. Craniofacial Risk Index (CRI) scores, calculated from the radiographs routinely obtained on all orthodontic patients, correctly classified 80% of apneic and 78% of non-apneic adult snorers into high-and low-Respiratory Disturbance Index (RDI) groups.

14 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

Cockroach allergen is the primary contributor to childhood asthma in inner-city homes

New results from a nationwide study on factors that affect asthma in inner-city children show that cockroach allergen appears to worsen asthma symptoms more than either dust mite or pet allergens.

8 Mar 2005

Should women be more dominant in the bedroom?

Research by Sue Venn of the University of Surrey shows that women are much more likely to passively accept their partner’s snoring than men.

8 Mar 2005

Are older women better in bed?

We all dream that when we are older we will be free to sleep as much as we want. But for many women life doesn’t work out that way according to new research by Dr Jenny Hislop of the University of Surrey.

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

Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide needed by the brain's biological clock to coordinate daily rhythms

A biologist at Washington University in St. Louis is giving the VIP treatment to laboratory mice in hopes of unraveling more clues about our biological clock.

7 Mar 2005

Underhand methods used to challenge secondhand smoke's link to infant death risk

The link between secondhand smoke and sudden infant death has been discredited in the last few years in scientific articles paid for and influenced by cigarette manufacturers, according to a new study of once-secret industry documents.

7 Mar 2005

Breakthrough noninvasive tool for early cardiovascular disease detection

Physicians and researchers now have access to a noninvasive fingertip test that can identify patients with the earliest stages of cardiovascular disease and replace testing that is done during angiography.

7 Mar 2005

Meditation may reduce heart disease risk

Black adolescents with high normal blood pressure who practice transcendental meditation improve the ability of their blood vessels to relax and may reduce their risk of becoming adults with cardiovascular disease, researchers say.

3 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

Amercan footballers are too fat

A new study by University of North Carolina endocrinologist Joyce Harp and student Lindsay Hecht suggests that as many 56 per cent of players in the National Football League are obese.

2 Mar 2005