A recently concluded research shows an association between sleep disorders in school-age children and behavior disorders such as ADHD. The sleep disorder that was in the focus in this research study was obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA.

There are many population studies from all over the world showing that approximately 2-3% of children have OSA. Just as in adults, this disorder is caused by a collapse of the upper airway during sleep. This results in a drop in oxygen, a rise in carbon dioxide, and fragmented sleep because the brain is disturbed by these fluctuations in oxygen and CO2. The classic example of a kid with sleep apnea is the skinny kid with big tonsils. Read the rest of this entry

SleepApneaDisorder/[Press Release]/ Hanover Park, IL / January 21, 2011/ Dr. Jin Zhou, DC at PainUSA.com celebrates seventh year of Zhou’s Hypoxicology Therapy (ZHT) clinical research for possible solutions to more medical conditions than sleep apnea, such as resistant hypertension, due to the same possible causes: baroreflex dysfunctions and tracheal caudal displacement (TCD), coincidentally in the wake of latest world research findings on “Difficult to Treat or Resistant Hypertension: Etiology, Pathophysiology, and Innovative Therapies”, published this month in the volume 2011 of International Journal of Hypertension.

With obvious and satisfactory clinical benefits from ZHT in early clinical observations for sleep apnea and anecdotal benefits for hypertension, Dr. Zhou is clinically seeking for alternative solutions to sleep apnea and hypertension that are completely supernatural and most economical. Read the rest of this entry

Chronic sleep deprivation caused by conditions like sleep apnea and insomnia might exact a high energetic toll.People with sleep apnea rouse many times during the night, raising the possibility that they are tapping energy reserves needed for sleep’s other functions.

Staying up all night clearly taxes the body, but scientists have only now added up the exact bill. By measuring the actual number of calories the body expends to fuel an all-nighter versus a good night’s sleep, researchers from the University of Colorado at Boulder calculate that a full night of sleep helps the body conserve as much energy as is in a glass of warm milk.

[ Read The Complete Post....  ]

SleepApneaDisorder/[Press Release]/MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 19, 2011 /Nonin Medical, Inc., the inventor of fingertip pulse oximetry and an innovator of noninvasive physiological monitoring solutions, today announced the United States and Canadian launches of its WristOx2™, Model 3150 wrist-worn pulse oximeter.

The WristOx2, Model 3150 is a compact, wireless wrist-worn monitoring device that accurately monitors blood-oxygen saturation (SpO2) levels and pulse rate in patients undergoing ambulatory monitoring to screen for breathing disorders such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or sleep disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea. Engineered with Nonin’s PureSAT® SpO2 technology, the WristOx2, Model 3150 is proven clinically accurate in the widest range of clinical settings and challenging patient conditions such as motion and low perfusion. Featuring Bluetooth® wireless technology, a new ergonomic design and larger screen size, the WristOx2, Model 3150 is designed to increase patient comfort and ease of use. Read the rest of this entry

Sarnia-based Dr. Gautam Soparkar, a sleep apnea expert who also oversees sleep clinics in Leamington and London, has written the Quick and Easy Sleep Apnea Book, which explains the medical condition in lay terms so people can understand it and recognize its signs and symptoms.

Sleep apnea is a disorder in which a person’s breathing is disrupted during sleep, sometimes severely. It’s more common than people think, Soparkar said during a book signing at Windsor Regional Hospital.

Many people have no idea they suffer from the condition, even if it’s affecting their daily life and health, Soparkar said. Read the rest of this entry

If your legs are jittery, jumpy, tingly and restless later in the day and especially at night when trying to sleep then these are the most common symptoms of Restless Leg Syndrome, a poorly understood condition that affects people of all ages.

Usually, the urge to move one’s legs is strongest when at rest, especially at time of sleep, and lessens with movement or activity. This condition may be relatively mild or can be quite disabling for some people.

Many theories have been promoted as to etiology including possible association with rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis or other autoimmune or neurologic disorders. Occasionally, there are associated sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, and this raised the question of reduced tissue oxygen or build up of toxic bodily waste products. Low serum iron levels also have been implicated. Read the rest of this entry

The first sleep laboratory in Palestine was inaugurated Tuesday at the Al-Yamama Hospital in Al-Khadr, south of Bethlehem, in cooperation with Medipharm Company.

Dr Issa Ja’nina, head of Al-Yamama’s medical staff, says sleep therapy “is not a luxurious practice anymore, as some think, after science proved that some sleep disorders result from obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and involuntary movement of legs during sleeping. In this instance, some people wake up for seconds and that could result in diabetes and high blood pressure, which could cause blood clots in the heart or brain.”

The new sleep lab, according to Ja’nina, will treat asphyxia, choking, excessive snoring, and oversleep. This will be done through monitoring four major variables, polysomnography, overnight oxymetry, multiple sleep latency, and CPAP titration study.

If you’re not sleeping well, if your partner complains that you snore loudly or you’re finding yourself excessively tired and having trouble concentrating during the day, you may have sleep apnea. It’s a common disorder that should be diagnosed by a doctor.

The two most-often diagnosed types are obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea. If you have sleep apnea, chances are, you’ll be told you need to sleep with a continuous positive airway pressure machine, or CPAP.

Sleep apnea is usually adequately treated with a CPAP even if oxygen levels were quite low.

If you have obstructive sleep apnea, your upper airway collapses, either partially or completely, during sleep and the oxygen level of your blood is often low.  [Read The Complete Post By Lisa Shives, M.D. ]

SleepApneaDisorder/(Press Release)/New York, NY ,January 19, 2011 / Dr. Farhad Hakimi announces today that from his 12 years of research of over 3,500 patients suffering from sleep apnea & snoring, that limiting alcohol intake before bed can help to reduce snoring in some patients that are looking for ways to lower their night-time snoring without the use of a CPAP machine or other oral appliance.

Dr. Hakimi says that having alcohol before bedtime increases the relaxation of the tongue and throat muscles, therefore making snoring more likely. In addition to reducing alcohol intake before bed, he recommends to his patients to make sure nasal passages are clear, as this makes breathing much easier during night-time sleeping. Read the rest of this entry

By Jobee Knight

The abuse of prescription pain medications is at an all-time high.  A recent White House study reported a 400 percent increase in the number of people admitted to treatment centers and emergency rooms for abusing prescription pain drugs. The increase was tracked during the 10-year-period from 1998 to 2008 and it spans every gender, race, education and employment level, and all regions of the country. A government representative from the Substance Abuse program said, “The non-medical use of prescription pain relievers is now the second-most prevalent form of illicit drug use in the Nation”

A battle has been raging for some time between potent natural remedies and addictive drugs and medicines.  This is mostly due to the lack of easily understood knowledge about which natural options have been proven effective.  In 400 B.C. the “Father of Medicine” Hippocrates said to his students “Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food”.  Mother Nature has provided us with two natural remedies for pain and insomnia that are backed by scientific studies as well as the test of time – calcium and magnesium.  Read the rest of this entry

Performing polysomnography (sleep study) prior to pediatric adenotonsillectomy (surgical removal of the tonsils and adenoids) may help identify children at a higher risk of developing postoperative respiratory complications, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of Otolaryngology – Head Neck Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

“Pediatric adenotonsillectomy is a safe outpatient procedure; however, there is a subset of patients who do not meet the criteria for outpatient surgery,” according to background information in the article. Guidelines for adenotonsillectomy, established by the American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, recommend that children should be healthy, have no evidence of obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (recurring episodes of obstruction or collapse of the upper airway during sleep) and be older than 3 years. Read the rest of this entry

Do you suffer from sleep apnea or have a family member or friend who suffers from it? If so, you are encouraged to attend this support group meeting on Monday, February 7 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Parrish Healthcare Center at Port St. John, 5005 Port St. John Parkway, (east of the I-95 Port St. John exit). The meetings are held in the Conference Center by the south entrance (near the sleep lab). This is a free community service. Please call 321-268-6408 to register.

The February 7 meeting will include:
Free Sleep Evaluations by a registered technologist. One of the most common signs of obstructive sleep apnea is loud and chronic (ongoing) snoring. Sleep apnea can result in depression, diabetes and morning headaches. Sleep apnea also contributes to high blood pressure, which an estimated 50 percent of sleep apnea patients have. The greatest risk from this sleep disorder, however, is stroke or heart attack. Anyone who suffers from the sleep apnea warning signs mentioned should take these symptoms seriously. Get a free sleep evaluation by a registered sleep technologist at this meeting.

CPAP Equipment Fair: Take a look at the newest model machines, masks, tubing and humidifiers.

CPAP Tune-ups: Pressure and equipment checks. Do you have an old, noisy machine? Do you feel your pressure has changed or isn’t adequate? Join us for a free “CPAP tune-up” (be sure to bring your machine and supplies).

About Parrish Sleep Disorders Center of Port St. John
Parrish Sleep Disorders Center of Port St. John is a four-bed sleep center where studies are done seven days/nights a week. Diagnostic testing is done for sleep apnea, narcolepsy, REM behavior disorder, maintenance of wakefulness, nocturnal seizures, and shift-work sleep studies during the day. Continuous follow-up care for Sleep Apnea is also done for patients with CPAP machines.

A recently concluded research has brought out the direct and indirect costs of sleep-disordered breathing (snoring, sleep apnea (SA) and obesity hypoventilation syndrome (OHS)) and the treatment are incompletely described.

In patients with sleep apnea, primary oropharyngeal collapse of the upper airway during sleep is an important predictor of treatment success with an oral appliance. Phrenic nerve stimulation is able to induce upper airway obstruction and was therefore used to mimic the target for an efficient treatment with an oral appliance.

Graymark Healthcare, the nation’s second largest provider of diagnostic sleep services and an innovator in comprehensive care for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), signed five additional agreements for its comprehensive sleep medicine services in the fourth quarter of 2010.  

These new customers bring the aggregate number of signed agreements during the fourth quarter to seven, and a total of 12 for 2010. The locations of the new Graymark sleep centers include:

• Kearney County Health Services of Minden, Nebraska
• Grady Memorial Hospital of Chickasha, Oklahoma
• Carrus Specialty Hospital of Sherman, Texas
• Wise Regional Hospital of Decatur, Texas
• Glen Rose Medical Center of Glen Rose, Texas

Patients in the geographic regions these hospitals serve can now receive sleep medicine care in familiar surroundings, while Graymark Healthcare ensures comprehensive, state-of-the-art services. Read the rest of this entry