CPAP May Reduce Seizures in People with Epilepsy Who Also Have Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Published on December 6, 2017 | SleepReviewMag.com Common treatment for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may decrease the risk of seizures in people with epilepsy who also suffer from the sleep disorder, suggests research presented at the American Epilepsy Society 71st Annual Meeting. The abstract is titled “Long-Term Seizure Control in Epileptic Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea Using Positive Airway Pressure Therapy.” The most efficacious treatment for OSA is positive airway pressure therapy, also known as PAP or CPAP (referring to the continuous mode) therapy. “Sleep apnea is common in people with epilepsy, but few physicians screen for it,” says Thapanee Somboon, MD, lead …
Treating Sleep Apnea May Subdue Seizures
– Study suggests CPAP benefit in epilepsy patients with OSA by Kristina Fiore, Deputy Managing Editor, MedPage Today December 03, 2017 WASHINGTON — Treating obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) may lower the risk of seizures in patients with epilepsy, researchers reported here. In a single-center study of patients treated at the Cleveland Clinic, a larger proportion of epilepsy patients with OSA who had CPAP therapy reported at least a 50% reduction in seizures from baseline at 1 year compared with those who weren’t treated, and with those who didn’t have OSA (63% versus 14% and 44%), according to …
Studies find binge-watching can increase risk of sleep deprivation, death
By Christian Fowler | Nov 16, 2017 | DailyHelmsman.com When Netflix releases new seasons of shows like “Stranger Things” or “American Horror Story,” many eyes flock to view multiple episodes at a time, but while “binge-watching” has become common practice for some, taking it too far could negatively affect viewers’ health. Recent studies connect binge-watching television shows to more sleep deprivation among younger audiences and even early mortality rates. A study published last August in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that people who binge-watch shows are more likely to miss out on necessary sleep. Of the 423 total 18-25-year-olds studied, …
Study links snoring to obesity
PublishedNov 19, 2017, 10:33 am IST UpdatedNov 19, 2017, 10:37 am IST | DeccanChronicle.com Researchers say the findings confirm the existence of a physiologic loop between worsening obesity and worsening sleep apnea. Washington: A team of researchers has shed some light on the vicious cycle of childhood obesity and snoring. Scientists at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) looked at the relationships among maternal snoring, childhood snoring and children’s metabolic characteristics – including body mass index (BMI) and insulin resistance, which reflects future risk for developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease – in approximately 1,100 children followed from gestation through early adolescence. Led by …
Obstructive sleep apnea linked to higher Alzheimer’s risk
By Maria Cohut | Published Friday 10 November 2017 | MedicalNewsToday.com Fact checked by Jasmin Collier A new study has demonstrated that older adults who experience obstructive sleep apnea may be at increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease. This is because they exhibit higher levels of amyloid beta, the chief component of the amyloid plaques that characterize the disease. Obstructive sleep apnea is characterized by the occasional inability to breathe while asleep, due to a collapse of the airway. This may cause the sleeper to wake up repeatedly during the night whenever breathing becomes difficult, resulting in disturbed sleep patterns. Recent data suggest that in the …
Sleep apnea in children impairs memory consolidation
Published Thursday 9 November 2017 | By Tim Newman | MedicalNewsToday.com Fact checked by Jasmin Collier A new study examined how obstructive sleep apnea in children may interfere with memory consolidation, and it also uncovered a potential method of predicting the level of disruption caused by the associated sleep loss. Over the years, science has delved into the nature and function of sleep. Although there are plenty of unanswered questions, slowly, slumber is giving up its secrets. One role that sleep seems to play a part in is the consolidation of memories. And although rapid eye movement (REM) sleep has long been considered important, non-REM (NREM) sleep has gained more interest recently. If we conclude that …
The Potential Pathophysiological Mechanisms of Obstructive Sleep Apnea that may be a major contributor to AFib disease progression
CardioSleepSolutions.com Mechanical Stretch due to negative Intra-Thoracic Pressure Obstructive Sleep Apnea is defined as a physiological event that happens when upper airway is partially or completely blocked during sleep. Mostly, as a result of collapsed soft tissue in the throat while lying on your back. This makes your diaphragm and chest muscles work harder to open the obstructed airway and pull air into the lungs. As the obstruction persists, significant negative pressure is developed in the inner space of the thorax. Breathing usually resumes when the sympathetic nerve system is activated, regaining control over the throat muscles and reopening the airways – …
What’s the Difference Between Nightmares and Sleep Terrors?
Health| November 3, 2017 | By Nitun Verma, M.D. | Self.com Everyone has bad dreams. It’s like a scary movie playing in your mind, typically waking you up right before something terrible happens—like falling off a cliff or witnessing a murder—relieved when you realize it wasn’t real. But did you know there are actually two types of sleep conditionsthat fall under the “bad dream” umbrella? Nightmares and sleep terrors (also called night terrors). We’ll dive into both, and cover some ways you can stop having them. Nightmares are unpleasant dreams that you usually remember upon waking, while sleep terrors involve feelings of intense fear, screaming, and thrashing around …
MICRRH researcher explains multi-generational 30 year sleep study
Esther MacIntyre | October 30, 2017 | NorthwestStar.com.au A local researcher from Mount Isa Centre for Rural and Remote Health (MICRRH) has been involved in a mammoth sleep study tracking mothers and their offspring over more than 30 years. The study began in 1981 with Mater Private Hospital in Brisbane and the University of Queensland (UQ) recruiting around 8000 pregnant women and their offspring, who they are tracking from birth to 30 years old. Research Officer, Fatima Yaqoot, is one cog in a larger researching wheel, analysing data at MICRRH in Mount Isa. “My role is to look at the continuity of sleep problems …
How treating sleep may ease all forms of autism
BY SHAFALI JESTE / 31 OCTOBER 2017 | SpectrumNews.org In a clinic I run at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), I see children who have various genetic syndromes associated with autism. These children have a wide range of features, including intellectual disability, language problems and seizures. But they have one thing in common: poor sleep. The inability to fall or stay asleep, called insomnia, can have far-reaching consequences. Sleep helps us to consolidate memories, learn and grow. Insomnia can aggravate cognitive and social and communication problems, behavioral challenges and anxiety; it can also exacerbate seizures. Behavioral interventions and medications can help …