Hi, here are a couple of articles on the subject that I found yesterday :

Neuroimaging of sleep and sleep disorders.
Nofzinger EA.
Sleep Neuroimaging Research Program, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 3811 O'Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. nofzingerea@upmc.edu

Herein are presented the results of research in the area of sleep neuroimaging over the past year. Significant work has been performed to clarify the basic mechanisms of sleep in humans. New studies also extend prior observations regarding altered brain activation in response to sleep deprivation by adding information regarding vulnerability to sleep deprivation and regarding the influence of task difficulty on aberrant responses. Studies in sleep disorder medicine have yielded significant findings in insomnia, depression, and restless legs syndrome. Extensive advances have been made in the area of sleep apnea where physiologic challenges have been used to probe brain activity in the pathophysiology of sleep apnea syndrome.

PMID: 16522269 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]


Sleep apnea syndrome in Parkinson's disease. A case-control study in 49 patients.
Diederich NJ,
Vaillant M,
Leischen M,
Mancuso G,
Golinval S,
Nati R,
Schlesser M.
Department of Neuroscience, Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg, Luxembourg. diederdn@pt.lu

In PD, the impact of nocturnal respiration on sleep continuity and architecture has not been systematically investigated by polysomnography (PSG). We performed a case-control study with retrospective analysis of PSG data of 49 PD patients. After classifying the PD patients according to their apnea/hypopnea index (AHI), they were matched with 49 controls in terms of age, gender, and AHI. There were 21 PD patients (43%) who had sleep apnea syndrome (SAS), classified as mild (AHI, 5-15) in 10 patients, moderate (AHI, >15-30) in 4 patients, and severe (AHI, > 30) in 7 patients. PD patients had more deep sleep (P = 0.02) and more nocturnal awakenings (P < 0.001) than the controls. Their body mass index (BMI) was lower (P = 0.04), and they maintained a more favorable respiratory profile, with higher mean and minimal oxygen saturation values (P = 0.006 and 0.01, respectively). These differences were preserved when only considering PD patients with AHI > 15. PD patients had less obstructive sleep apneas (P = 0.035), independently from the factor AHI. Only the respiratory changes of 4 PD patients with BMI > 27 and AHI > 15 (8%) approximated those seen in the controls. At an early or middle stage of the disease, non-obese PD patients frequently have AHI values suggesting SAS, however, without the oxygen desaturation profile of SAS. Longitudinal studies of patients with such "abortive" SAS are warranted to establish if this finding reflects benign nocturnal respiratory muscle dyskinesia or constitutes a precursor sign of dysautonomia in PD.

PMID: 16007620 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]


Sleep breathing disorders in patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease.
Maria B,
Sophia S,
Michalis M,
Charalampos L,
Andreas P,
John ME,
Nikolaos SM.
Department of Neurology, Medical School, University of Heraklion, Crete, Greece.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: to investigate the presence of sleep breathing disorders in patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) and their correlation with the severity of the disease. PARTICIPANTS: Fifteen patients (mean age 63 +/- 4 years) with idiopathic PD (Group A) and 15 healthy matched controls (Group B) were studied. All patients were under treatment with L-Dopa/Carbidopa and classified according to the UPDRS motor scale: 8 had mild disease (UPDRS < 12), 6 moderate (UPDRS: 12-22) and 1 severe (UPDRS > 22). MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: All participants underwent full night polysomnography (PSG). The sleep-wake history was assessed. Spirometry, maximal respiratory pressures and arterial blood gases were also measured. Snoring was more common in Group A patients (73.3% vs. 33.3%, p = 0.002). Among the parameters studied apnea hypopnea index (AHI), mean O2 saturation, minimum O2 saturation, REM% sleep and Arousal Index (Arousal Index) were statistically different between the two groups. Furthermore, 9 PD patients fulfilled the criteria for obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) predominately mild, 1 for central sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (CSAHS) and 5 were normal. In all patients a marked reduction in percentage REM sleep was observed. Among the patients with OSAHS 5 had mild PD, 3 moderate and 1 severe. The patient with CSAHS had moderate disease. Finally, 3 patients with mild and 2 with moderate PD had no evidence of sleep breathing disorders. Correlations between severity of disease and sleep parameters are provided. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that sleep breathing disorders, predominantly obstructive, seem to be common in PD and those events correlate with the severity of the disease.

PMID: 14561023 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]