Sleep News and Research

Latest Sleep News and Research

Children can benefit from surgery for sleep apnea

Times have changed. Within the last ten years, the primary reason that children have had surgery to remove their tonsils and adenoids is not because of infection. Instead, up to 90 percent of the adenotonsillectomy surgeries are to correct obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

1 Mar 2005

Rising awareness, new product alternatives to boost prospects of European sleep apnea diagnostics market

Low levels of awareness among patients and physicians about sleep apnea are hindering the uptake of related diagnostics. Increased knowledge about this breathing disorder together with the emergence of new alternatives to current diagnostics tools is set to aid in market expansion.

28 Feb 2005

College administrators, students differ on what hazing is

A new study has uncovered a wide divide between what college students consider to be hazing and what university officials and researchers do.

28 Feb 2005

Second-generation Antidepressants

A recent article in the prestigious British Medical Journal seems to confirm an increased risk for suicidal behavior among adults taking popular antidepressants. This follows evidence that certain selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) may have a similar effect among children and adolescents.

27 Feb 2005

Should screening for sleep apnea be required for all men?

According to a new study, men in their 20s need to be screened the most. That's because men aged 20 to 29 with severe sleep apnea have 10 times the risk of dying from heart related ailments than their non sleep apnea peers in the general population, and a much higher risk than older men with sleep apnea.

24 Feb 2005

Early diagnosis and treatment is important for children and adolescents with bipolar disorder

"These new guidelines were formulated by a group of leading experts in child psychiatry and are the most up-to-date and comprehensive set of guidelines for the treatment of children and adolescents with bipolar disorder," said Dr. Kowatch. "They represent a major step towards practicing evidence-based medicine in this difficult to treat group of patients.

22 Feb 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

Bipolar disorder a common feature in urban primary care practice

According to a study in the February 23 issue of JAMA. Nearly 10 percent of patients screened at a general medicine clinic in an urban area were found to have a history of bipolar disorder.

21 Feb 2005

Link between muscle movement and breathing rhythms may shed new light on SIDS and sleep apnea

Between 2,000 and 3,000 infant deaths each year are attributed to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. In addition, approximately 12 million Americans suffer from sleep apnea, a respiratory ailment that can lead to death in some cases.

17 Feb 2005

New findings challenge one of the established views of how nerve cells communicate with one another

Every time we move, feel emotions, think or remember, the nerve cells, or neurons, in our body transmit messages to one another via chemical signals called neurotransmitters. Within neurons are tiny organelles called synaptic vesicles that sequester neurotransmitters and release them when needed into the synapse, or space between nerve cells, where the chemical signal is transmitted to other neurons.

16 Feb 2005

Diary kept by a mother of twins has revealed indicators of autistic behaviour in children

“It appears that children with autism develop normally for six months, and then begin developing atypically,” says Rutherford. “As typical children begin to accelerate in social development, the child with autism makes only minor gains.”

13 Feb 2005

Parent methamphetamine abuse and child welfare in the rural midwest

In its destructive effect on rural families and their children, methamphetamine may be in a class of its own, based on the first study from an ongoing research project in seven Central Illinois counties, conducted by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

7 Feb 2005

Acupuncture to reduce back pain in pregnancy

A Yale researcher and expert in the practice of acupuncture is conducting a three-year study on the effectiveness of this ancient Chinese practice in reducing low back pain during pregnancy.

3 Feb 2005

Melanopsin plays a key role in the inner workings of the eye

A Brown University team has found that a protein called melanopsin plays a key role in the inner workings of mysterious, spidery cells in the eye called intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells, or ipRGCs.

26 Jan 2005

Younr black people experience the most pain

Adults under the age of 50 who have chronic pain may be less able to cope with their condition and more prone to associated depression than their elders, a new study suggests.

25 Jan 2005

Nasogastric tube after abdominal surgery slows recovery

Routine use of a nasogastric tube after abdominal surgery, once thought to speed the return of normal intestinal functions, actually slows recovery, according to a new review of research.

24 Jan 2005

Quality of life improves for children who receive treatment for obstructive sleep apnea

Behavioral and emotional difficulties are found in children with obstructive sleep apnea, but they improve after treatment, according to a study in the January issue of Archives of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery.

17 Jan 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