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Query: UMLS:C0037315 (sleep apnea)
 8,000 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Wakefulness and sleep are antagonistic states competing for the domain of brain activity. Non-REM sleep and REM sleep are different states of being, sustained by activity in brainstem nuclei, hypothalamus, basal forebrain, and thalamus. Such complex phenomenology is subject to many alterations grouped in the new International Classification of Sleep Disorders. The insomnias are the result of interacting psychosocial, psychophysiologic, neurodevelopmental, and medical factors. Proper perspective of each factor provides the clinical strategies to approach medically the symptom-complex of insomnia. The most common cause of daytime hypersomnia is chronic sleep deprivation. Obstructive sleep apnea responds to nasal CPAP, but the failure rate approaches 30%. In intolerant patients BiPAP and surgical remedies should be considered. Motor and behavioral abnormalities of sleep may be linked to REM sleep as in the REM sleep behavior disorder. Paroxysmal nocturnal dystonia and nocturnal wanderings may be associated with epilepsy. Intrusions of one state of being (wakefulness, non-REM sleep, and REM sleep) into another result in mixed, poorly defined, or only partially developed states. Dissociation of states may be responsible for confusional arousals, hallucinations, and cateplexy. Senile degeneration of the suprachiasmatic nuclei may underlie the circadian rhythm changes in old age and the "sundown" syndrome in demented patients. Misalignment of the hypothalamic pacemaker causes dysregulation of sleep-related physiologic and behavioral variables. Exposure to bright light retrains the pacemaker in night-shift workers, transmeridian travelers, and in patients with seasonal affective syndrome. Benzodiazepine compounds are very effective hypnotics, but should be used sparingly in the elderly to avoid falls, memory lapses, and aggravation of a preexisting sleep apnea syndrome. Sleep laboratory evaluations are indicated in patients with hypersomnia, suspected sleep apnea syndrome, motor-behavioral disorders of sleep, and in many individuals complaining of insomnia.
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PMID:Update on disorders of sleep and the sleep--wake cycle. 160 36

In 100 consecutive adults who came to a sleep disorders center complaining of repeated nocturnal injury, polysomnographic study identified five disorders: night terrors/sleepwalking (N = 54), REM sleep behavior disorder (N = 36), dissociative disorders (N = 7), nocturnal seizures (N = 2), and sleep apnea (N = 1). Ninety-five patients sustained ecchymoses, 30 had lacerations, and nine had fractures. DSM-III axis I disorders (past or current) were found in 48.1% of the group with night terrors/sleepwalking and in 30.6% of the group with REM sleep behavior disorder; these were mainly affective disorders. In these two groups, clonazepam controlled the symptoms of 51 of the 61 patients to whom it was given.
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PMID:A polysomnographic and clinical report on sleep-related injury in 100 adult patients. 276 74

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a common sensorimotor disorder with an estimated prevalence of between 1% and 5%. The symptomatology is characterized by unpleasant sensations experienced predominantly in the legs and rarely in the arms. The symptoms occur only at rest and become more pronounced in the evening or at night. In addition, the patients suffer from a strong urge to move the limbs, typically manifest as walking around, which leads to complete but only temporary relief of the symptoms. Most of the patients with RLS have periodic leg movements (PLMS) during sleep and relaxed wakefulness that are characterized by repetitive flexions of the extremities. PLMS can occur as an isolated phenomenon, but often they occur together with other sleep disorders including RLS, narcolepsy, sleep apnoea syndrome or REM sleep behaviour disorder. In all these disorders, PLMS, contribute considerably to disturbed sleep, as the movements may lead to brief arousals or repeated full awakenings. The aetiology of RLS and PLMS is unknown. It is hypothesized that periodic leg movements result from a suprasegmental disinhibition of descending inhibitory pathways. Based on the efficacy of the drugs listed below, the dopaminergic, adrenergic and opiate systems are thought to play a major role in the pathogenesis of RLS/PLMS. Since the cause is unclear, therapy of RLS and PLMS remains symptomatic except for some secondary forms. Studies on the pharmacological treatment of RLS have shown the efficacy of levodopa, dopamine agonists, benzodiazepines, opioids, clonidine and carbamazepine. With regard to the drug treatment of PLMS in other sleep disorders including their isolated occurrence, indications and efficacy have been poorly defined until now.
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PMID:Restless legs and periodic leg movements in sleep syndromes. 911 88

REM sleep behaviour disorder (RSBD) is a recently described parasomnia characterised by a history of excessive nocturnal motor activity and absence of muscle atonia during REM sleep. Only limited literature is available on this condition. The exact prevalence is unclear, but recent studies suggest it might not be an uncommon condition. The elderly are more often affected and there is a male preponderance. While transient RSBD can be seen after taking certain drugs or during drug withdrawal, the chronic type is usually idiopathic or associated with an underlying degenerative neurological condition. It can result in considerable distress and/or serious injury to the patients or their bed partners. Differential diagnoses include sleep-walking, night terrors, nightmares, nocturnal seizures, obstructive sleep apnoea, post-traumatic stress disorder, dissociative states and nocturnal confusional states. The dramatic response to clonazepam highlights the importance of recognition and appropriate treatment of this sleep disorder.
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PMID:REM sleep behaviour disorder: an overview. 953 85

In this publication a review is presented based on the findings resulting from sleep-wake investigations searching for sleep disorders associated with insomnia in relatively healthy elderly. 44 Relevant journal articles published between 1980-1998 were found. The four most important sleep disorders which can be accompanied by sleeplessness in relatively healthy elderly people are periodic leg movements disorder (PLM), restless legs syndrome (RLS), REM sleep behaviour disorder (RBD) and sleep apnea syndrome (SAS). Of these disorders, sleep apnea and periodic leg movements occur most frequently, in a quarter of the elderly. The latter, however, seldom complain about sleeplessness. Within the category of older people disorders characterized by movements during sleep increase significantly with age, nightly respiration disorders do not. SAS, PLM and RBD appear most frequently in men and RLS in women. The disorders characterized by movements during sleep (especially RLS and RBD) are often accompanied by sleeplessness. SAS, however, is more closely associated with day-time sleepiness than with sleeplessness. No combination of demographic variables and symptoms allows a reliable prediction of these sleep disorders. Fortunately, these disorders are not a major threat to the health of older people.
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PMID:[Sleep disorders in elderly, the sleep apnea syndrome in particular: are they a cause of insomnia? A review of literature]. 1063 12

Narcolepsy is a disabling, chronic sleep-wake disorder that typically starts in a patient's second or third decade of life. Its key features are hypersomnia and cataplexy. Sleep paralysis, hallucinations, and disrupted sleep are nonspecific symptoms and are not always present. Disability relates primarily to sleepiness- related cognitive impairment, accidents, and psychosocial problems. Treatment, which includes counseling, scheduled napping, and pharmacologic intervention, is effective for most patients. Hypersomnia is best treated with such indirect sympathomimetics as mazindol, pemoline, methylphenidate, and amphetamine. Modafinil may become the drug of choice because it has fewer side effects. Cataplexy, sleep paralysis, and hallucinations may be ameliorated by compounds, including clomipramine and imipramine, that suppress rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Regular follow-up visits enable the clinician to recognize uncommon but serious side effects (tolerance, substance abuse, psychosis, and hypertension) and additional sleep disturbances (sleep apnea, periodic limb movements in sleep, REM sleep behavior disorder), which can be specifically treated.
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PMID:Narcolepsy. 1109 16

Sleep-disordered breathing may be present in patients with degenerative diseases affecting the brainstem. Indeed, this last structure contains the executive system of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep (tegmentum of the pons), of respiratory drive (medulla oblongata and pons) and motor neurons of upper airways dilators (fifth, seventh, ninth, tenth and twelfth cranial roots). Patients with Parkinson's disease suffer frequently from insomnia, partly caused by nocturnal motor disability, and from REM sleep behavior disorder. In 20 percent of the patients, excessive daytime sleepiness is caused by a sleep apnea syndrome, with a partly levodopa-dependent upper airway dysfunction. In 40 percent of the patients, sleepiness mimics a secondary narcolepsy and may be associated with hypnagogic hallucinations. During supranuclear palsy, REM sleep is progressively curtailed with rare sleep-disordered breathing. Patients with multiple systemic atrophy may present a nocturnal stridor caused by laryngeal palsy and benefit from tracheotomy or continuous nasal positive airway pressure. Seldom sleep and respiratory studies in genetic ataxic diseases suggest a normal respiratory drive, occasional diaphragmatic dysfunction and night hypopneas. During amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the progressive loss of phrenic nerve leads to a diaphragmatic dysfunction, dyspnea and a lesser survival. Adequate ventilation is jeopardized during REM sleep with a consequent loss of this state.
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PMID:[Respiratory disorders during sleep in degenerative diseases of the brain stem]. 1192 29

Narcolepsy is a disorder of impaired expression of wakefulness and rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep. This manifests as excessive daytime sleepiness and expression of individual physiological correlates of REM sleep that include cataplexy and sleep paralysis (REM sleep atonia intruding into wakefulness), impaired maintenance of REM sleep atonia (e.g. REM sleep behaviour disorder [RBD]), and dream imagery intruding into wakefulness (e.g. hypnagogic and hypnopompic hallucinations). Excessive sleepiness typically begins in the second or third decade followed by expression of auxiliary symptoms. Only cataplexy exhibits a high specificity for diagnosis of narcolepsy. While the natural history is poorly defined, narcolepsy appears to be lifelong but not progressive. Mild disease severity, misdiagnoses or long delays in cataplexy expression often cause long intervals between symptom onset, presentation and diagnosis. Only 15-30% of narcoleptic individuals are ever diagnosed or treated, and nearly half first present for diagnosis after the age of 40 years. Attention to periodic leg movements (PLM), sleep apnoea and RBD is particularly important in the management of the older narcoleptic patient, in whom these conditions are more likely to occur. Diagnosis requires nocturnal polysomnography (NPSG) followed by multiple sleep latency testing (MSLT). The NPSG of a narcoleptic patient may be totally normal, or demonstrate the patient has a short nocturnal REM sleep latency, exhibits unexplained arousals or PLM. The MSLT diagnostic criteria for narcolepsy include short sleep latencies (<8 minutes) and at least two naps with sleep-onset REM sleep. Treatment includes counselling as to the chronic nature of narcolepsy, the potential for developing further symptoms reflective of REM sleep dyscontrol, and the hazards associated with driving and operating machinery. Elderly narcoleptic patients, despite age-related decrements in sleep quality, are generally less sleepy and less likely to evidence REM sleep dyscontrol. Nonpharmacological management also includes maintenance of a strict wake-sleep schedule, good sleep hygiene, the benefits of afternoon naps and a programme of regular exercise. Thereafter, treatment is highly individualised, depending on the severity of daytime sleepiness, cataplexy and sleep disruption. Wake-promoting agents include the traditional psychostimulants. More recently, treatment with the 'activating' antidepressants and the novel wake-promoting agent modafinil has been advocated. Cataplexy is especially responsive to antidepressants which enhance synaptic levels of noradrenaline (norepinephrine) and/or serotonin. Obstructive sleep apnoea and PLMs are more common in narcolepsy and should be suspected when previously well controlled older narcolepsy patients exhibit a worsening of symptoms. The discovery that narcolepsy/cataplexy results from the absence of neuroexcitatory properties of the hypothalamic hypocretin-peptidergic system will significantly advance understanding and treatment of the symptom complex in the future.
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PMID:Narcolepsy in the older adult: epidemiology, diagnosis and management. 1269 96

Complaints about sleep disorders and excessive daytime sleepiness are common among patients with multiple system atrophy. The diffuse neurodegenerative process that encompasses the key structures involved in the regulation of the sleep/wake transition and respiratory function may account for these complaints and for the most frequent polysomnographic findings in MSA, i.e., sleep-related breathing disturbances and REM sleep behaviour disorder, which are both treatable conditions. Nocturnal stridor is an inspiratory sound produced by complex vocal cord muscle dysfunction. Often occurring with sleep apnoea, stridor is associated with decreased survival. REM sleep behaviour disorder, a parasomnia characterized by loss of normal skeletal muscle atonia during REM sleep with prominent motor activity, is detected in almost all patients. The pathophysiology of both disorders is partially elucidated but increasing evidence points to the role of basal ganglia dysfunction.
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PMID:Sleep disorders in multiple system atrophy. 1608 9

Parkinson's disease is a progressive disorder of the central nervous system. Degeneration of the dopaminergic neurons is the main cause of the disease. The basic symptoms of Parkinson's disease are bradykinesia, rigidity and resting tremor. Disturbances of the autonomous nervous system, depression, dementia and sleep disorders are common, too. People with Parkinson's disease suffer from insomnia, excessive daytime sleepiness, "sleep attacks", nightmares, REM sleep behaviour disorder, periodic limb movement in sleep, restless legs syndrome and sleep apnea syndrome. The main cause of sleep disorders in Parkinson's disease are age-connected changes in sleep architecture, disturbances of neurotransmission, movement disturbances in sleep, medications and concomitant diseases. The authors present the current state of knowledge on sleep disorders in Parkinson's disease, especially, the role of dopaminergic therapy, methods of diagnostics and treatment as well as the influence of sleep disturbances on patient's quality of life.
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PMID:[Sleep disturbances in Parkinson's disease]. 1627 62


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