The Snoring Center,(SM) the nationally renowned Dallas-based clinic for the treatment of snoring and sleep apnea, has filed a federal lawsuit against a group of San Francisco businessmen accused of using fraudulently obtained proprietary information to establish and falsely market a competing medical practice, the “Sereno Center for Snoring Solutions”.

The lawsuit, filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, includes claims that, in late 2008 and 2009, defendants Wade Zander, Jason Godfrey and Dr. Matthew Mingrone posed as potential investors and joint venture partner in The Snoring Center’s plans to expand beyond Dallas, Houston and Fort Worth.  Instead, the defendants allegedly obtained and used The Snoring Center’s confidential financial and clinical data and advertising strategies to open the Sereno Center in downtown San Francisco earlier this year. Read the rest of this entry

A recent research study established that acupuncture as a treatment for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has immediate effects in reducing nocturnal respiratory events, sleep disruptions, and desaturations (low oxygen levels in the blood). The researchers hypothesize that this improvement is due to acupuncture’s effects on serotonergic pathways and also acupuncture’s anti-inflammatory effects. Both manual acupuncture and 10Hz electro-acupuncture techniques were found effective. Both techniques produced superior clinical outcomes compared with 2Hz electro-acupuncture.
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Sleep disorders come in many forms and are often misunderstood and misdiagnosed because the telltale signs — excessive snoring and daytime drowsiness — can result from a multitude of factors, including stress, obesity, work or travel schedule, anxiety, diet, medication or alcohol use or even a bad mattress or poor lighting. 

Any time we change our sleep patterns, like during the switch to or from Daylight Saving Time, our ability to rest properly is affected. But sleep deprivation and sleep disorders are year-round problems that must be properly diagnosed and addressed to preserve the health of the individual”, according to Dr. Arnold Pallay, medical director at Changebridge Medical Associates in Montville. Read the rest of this entry

A recent article on the Men’s Health website told a cautionary tale of a man named Tom Zehmisch. He died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 46. Only four months earlier, he had participated in a national swim meet and he died while participating in a triathlon. To look at Tom, you would not have thought him to be at risk of obstructive sleep apnea.

The stereotypical obstructive sleep apnea patient is more like Don Dillard who, in 2007 had reached a staggering 401 pounds on the scale. He had been hospitalized four times for serious health problems including congestive heart failure, and was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea. Read the rest of this entry

Active Healthcare, an award-winning industry leader in sleep apnea treatment, hosted a meeting of the Durham A.W.A.K.E. (Alert, Well and Keeping Energetic) support group Thursday, October 28 to share meaningful education and resources for managing this dangerous condition.

Participants learned how to deal with challenges in CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) therapy, an effective method for treating obstructive sleep apnea. Presenters Julie Shannon and Angela Martinez, sleep specialists with Active Healthcare, were on hand to showcase the latest equipment and perform screenings for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in addition to testing attendee CPAP equipment on-site. Read the rest of this entry

SleepApneaDisordr/ [ Press Release ]/ BOSTON/ — Sleep HealthCenters has recently entered into a partnership with the Boston University Medical Group to develop and manage the Boston University Medical Group Sleep Center at 930 Commonwealth Ave in Brookline. Beginning this month, Sleep HealthCenters will perform diagnostic sleep studies and open a clinic offering sleep therapy services. Read the rest of this entry

While home sleep testing hasn’t been quite the boon many believed that it would be, provider Robert Koenigsberg says his sales are up 30% this year.

 ”If you look at companies like us, we are doing quite well because there is an audience of insurers and physicians (who believe in it) and there is a tremendous unmet need,” said Koenigsberg, president and CEO of SleepQuest.

SleepQuest, the 15-year-old company recently launched a patient-centric website, mysleepquest.com, that will put information and, when necessary, sleep studies in patients’ hands. Read the rest of this entry

A Cornell University research study concludes that medical costs related to obesity are costing U.S. taxpayers $168 billion annually. This is a figure double the amount of the U.S. health care budget previously estimated.

The study was conducted by Chad Meyerhoefer, assistant professor of economics, in collaboration with John Cawley, associate professor of policy analysis and management at Cornell University. The data was taken over a five-year period from 14,000 adults.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity increases risk for coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, a variety of cancers, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, stroke, liver and gallbladder disease, sleep apnea and respiratory problems. Read the rest of this entry