A Currently concluded research study based on the large health insurance database revealed that people who’d suffered sudden deafness were more probable to have a previous diagnosis of sleep apnea than a comparison group without hearing loss.

Taiwanese health insurance data analysis revealed that the absolute difference is actually small: 1.7 percent of those with hearing loss had sleep apnea in comparison to 1.2 percent without hearing trouble.

The health records of nearly one million Taiwanese evaluated by Dr. Jau-Jiuan Sheu, of Taipei Medical University Hospital. His team of researchers found that almost 3,200 had been diagnosed with sudden deafness between 2000 and 2008. Comparison was made with other five people of same age and sex without hearing loss. Out of those 19,000 people in total, 240 had been diagnosed with sleep apnea before the episode of sudden deafness occurred. Read the rest of this entry

Sleep disorders often remain undiagnosed. Untreated sleep disorders among police officers may adversely affect their health and safety and pose a risk to the public.

Researchers examined and evaluated associations between sleep disorder risk and self-reported health, safety, and performance outcomes in police officers.

Cross-sectional and prospective cohort study of North American police officers participating in either an online or an on-site screening (n=4957) and monthly follow-up surveys (n=3545 officers representing 15 735 person-months) between July 2005 and December 2007. A total of 3693 officers in the United States and Canada participated in the online screening survey, and 1264 officers from a municipal police department and a state police department participated in the on-site survey.             Read the rest of this entry

For patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea, three months of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy is associated with reduced blood pressure, and partial reversal of metabolic abnormalities, according to a study published in the Dec. 15 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Surendra K. Sharma, M.D., Ph.D., from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, and colleagues investigated the effects of CPAP treatment on metabolic syndrome in 86 patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Patients were assigned to real or sham CPAP for three months, followed by a washout period of one month, and then a crossover to the other intervention for three months. Anthropometric variables, blood pressure, fasting blood glucose levels and lipid profile, insulin resistance, glycated hemoglobin levels, carotid intima-media thickness, and visceral fat were measured before and after each intervention. Read the rest of this entry

The Doctors Health Press, a publisher of various natural health newsletters books and reports, including the popular online Doctors Health Press e-Bulletin, is lending its support to a new study that has found combining a Mediterranean diet and regular physical activity could help you improve your night time rest.

As reported in the Doctors Health Press e-Bulletin on Thursday, December 8, 2011, the study looked at how the Mediterranean diet could help obese adults with sleep apnea compared to those with a typical diet.

This health condition causes frequent pauses of breathing to occur during sleep. It can be dangerous over the long term, and is one of the most prevalent sleep-related breathing disorders. Two to four out of every 100 adults experience sleep apnea. But that rises 20% to 40% among obese individuals. Read the rest of this entry

People with obstructive sleep apnea are more likely to stick to prescribed treatment when a partner or parent is involved with their treatment, according to a team of sleep researchers.

Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when the upper airway collapses during sleep. It is the most common type of sleep-disordered breathing, and chances of it occurring become more elevated in obese people.

The first line of treatment for sleep apnea is a non-invasive in-home treatment called CPAP, continuous positive airway pressure therapy. However, if patients do not use the equipment properly, or at all, it cannot help. Read the rest of this entry

Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine has received a $3.8 million grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to study sleep apnea as a possible cause of atrial fibrillation (AF), the most commonly diagnosed type of arrhythmia, or irregular heart rhythm.

AF is characterized by an abnormally rapid heart rate that can inhibit blood flow, and raise the risk of stroke and heart failure. The five-year, NHLBI grant will enable researchers to study how sleep apnea, a treatable disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep, produces functional and structural changes in the heart that may well contribute to the development of AF. Read the rest of this entry

Patients with mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a condition in which the airway collapses and blocks breathing for 10 seconds or more, may consider adjustable oral appliances (OAs), devices that fit within the mouth to prevent upper airway collapse, as an effective first-line treatment, according to two studies conducted by sleep medicine specialists from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) in Bethesda, Md. 

The retrospective, peer-reviewed studies, published in the December 2011 issue of CHEST, the official journal of the American College of Chest Physicians, and in the current issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine (JCSM), the official journal of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, provide findings on OAs from the largest patient populations studied to date. The studies found that adjustable OAs are nearly as effective as continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment for patients with a mild form of OSA and are more effective than fixed oral appliances, particularly in patients with moderate to severe OSA. Read the rest of this entry

A new study presented in November at the American College of Allergy, Asthma  and Immunology Annual Meeting found that obese adolescents have an increased risk of sleep apnea or abnormal breathing during sleep.

Previous research has shown that obese children and teenagers are at higher  risk of health-related problems, including heart disease, diabetes, high blood  pressure and asthma. Children who are overweight are nearly 2-1/2 times more  likely to have asthma than those who are not overweight. Now, this new study  highlights how obesity may interfere with a child’s ability to have restful  sleep.

“Quality nighttime sleep is a key component for advanced executive function  in children and teenagers,” says Sushmita Mikkilineni, M.D., Director Pediatric  Pulmonology for Children’s Hospital of New Jersey (CHoNJ) at Newark Beth Israel  Medical Center. “Untreated pediatric sleep disorders, including sleep apnea, can  exact a heavy toll on young people. Children suffering from sleep disorders may  be hyperactive, inattentive, and chronically tired.” Read the rest of this entry

A recent study by the American Psychiatric Association of Psychiatric  Services concludes a direct connection between sleep apnea and certain  psychiatric conditions. It also points out that the solutions for psychiatric  patients are just as simple as those for all individuals suffering from sleep  apnea. Companies like Rematee provide a solution that is both non-evasive and  ensures side sleeping.

Sleep apnea is a relatively common sleep disorder that causes patients to  stop breathing from 20 seconds to 40 seconds, due to a relaxed and thus  partially collapsed airway. Although it will not outright wake its victims, it  will bring them to a lighter stage of sleep, disrupting the rest and relaxation  needed by the brain, as well as other parts of the body.

Because the brain is so affected by this sleep disorder, much research is  being done as to how it relates to psychiatric conditions.  Studies are showing  that the effects of sleep apnea on certain mental conditions, including that of  Alzheimer’s disease, are actually quite prominent. Read the rest of this entry

The safety and effectiveness of sleep apnea equipment will be examined,evaluated, and determined with the help of a research study conducted by Winston-Salem Company.

Winston-Salem announced that  it has received approval to begin a clinical study to evaluate the  safety and effectiveness of the Apnex hypoglossal Nerve Stimulation (HGNS) System. The device is used to treat obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

PMG will be one of the first medical centers in the country to participate in this study. “Many people who suffer from OSA are unable to tolerate existing therapies such as continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). The HGNS System provides a new approach to the treatment of OSA. This study will help us  further understand what role this device could have in treating the millions of people who suffer from OSA,” said the study’s co-principal investigator. Read the rest of this entry

People with diabetes and obstructive sleep apnea are at greater risk of hypoglycemia, a newly concluded research revealed.

People suffering from a sleep disorder who also had poor autonomic function had significantly more hypoglycemia than those with more normal function (P<0.05), Jennifer Cheng, MD, of Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science in Chicago, and colleagues reported here at the World Congress on Insulin Resistance, Diabetes, and Cardiovascular Disease meeting.

“We expected that the symptomatic obstructive sleep apnea patients would have more hyperglycemia, but they actually had more hypoglycemia,” Cheng told MedPage Today. “Clinicians should take into account autonomic function when recommending tight glucose regulation because of the adverse effects that hypoglycemia can cause.” Read the rest of this entry

Sleep apnea screening is rare among psychiatric patients at present, but it’s important to diagnose obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) because it can make mental illness worse, contributing to depression and possibly to the risk of manic episodes.

The symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea can mimic mental illness as well, making patients irritable and tired. If a patient is diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea it will further complicate the use of benzodiazepines and other respiratory depressants in such patients.

The lead investigator Dr. Vanita Jain, a psychiatry department resident at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City says,” “Sleep problems are so integral to psychiatric problems, [and] we wanted to make sure that along with psychiatric disorders, we were treating obstructive sleep apnea, too”. Read the rest of this entry

University of Chicago scientists have dovered important new relationships between obesity, sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) and cognitive processing among elementary school children.

“The intricate interdependencies between BMI, SDB and cognition shown in our study are of particular importance in children, as their brains are still rapidly developing,” says study author Karen Spruyt, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the Pritzer School of Medicine. “Rising rates of obesity in children may amplify these relationships. Public health campaigns targeting obesity should emphasize not only the health benefits but the potential educational benefits of losing weight.”

The findings were published online ahead of print publication in the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. Read the rest of this entry

A study appearing in the November 2011 issue of the Journal of  Clinical Sleep Medicine finds that obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)  patients treated with Provent Sleep Apnea Therapywere not only compliant  with the therapy but also showed a reduction in apnea-hypopnea index  (AHI).

“This study provides further validation that Provent Therapy is an  effective treatment for some OSA patients as it reduces daytime  sleepiness, apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), and snoring associated with this  prevalent condition,” said Meir Kryger, MD, of Gaylord Sleep Medicine  and past president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

“Patients  reported wearing the device almost 90% of the nights, which represents  very high compliance. The current gold standard, continuous positive  airway pressure (CPAP) is very effective but many patients do not use it  adequately. Provent represents an important new treatment option for  many obstructive sleep apnea patients.” Read the rest of this entry

A newly concluded research study findings published online in the European Respiratory Journal, evaluated the impact a Mediterranean diet can have on obese people with sleep apnea, compared to those on a prudent diet.The study revealed that Mediterranean diet combined with physical activity can help to improve some of the symptoms of sleep apnea.

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) causes frequent pauses of breathing to occur during sleep, which disrupts a person’s normal sleeping pattern. It is one of the most prevalent sleep-related breathing disorders with approximately 2-4% of the adult population experiencing the condition. This percentage increases up to 20-40% with obesity, and weight loss is often an essential part of the recommended treatment plan.

The researchers, from the University of Crete in Greece, examined 40 obese patients suffering from OSAS. Twenty patients were given a prudent diet to follow, while the other 20 followed a Mediterranean diet. Both groups were also encouraged to increase their physical activity, mainly involving walking for at least 30 minutes each day.

In both groups, the patients also received continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy which involves wearing a mask that generates an air stream, keeping the upper airway open during sleep. Read the rest of this entry