TORONTO — Heart failure patients with untreated sleep apnea are more likely to die than those without this sleep disorder, says a study to be published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
The study followed 164 patients with heart failure for more than seven years, and found that those with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) had double the death rate of those patients who did not have sleep apnea. Of the 37 patients with untreated OSA, the death rate was 24 percent in contrast to 12 percent for the 113 patients with no sleep apnea.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has requested that all manufacturers of sedative-hypnotic drug products, a class of drugs used to induce and/or maintain sleep, strengthen their product labeling to include stronger language concerning potential risks.
These risks include severe allergic reactions and complex sleep-related behaviors, which may include sleep-driving. Sleep driving is defined as driving while not fully awake after ingestion of a sedative-hypnotic product, with no memory of the event.
The U.S. FDA is requesting all manufacturers of sedative-hypnotic drug products, a class of drugs used to induce and/or maintain sleep, strengthen their product labeling to include stronger language concerning potential risks. These risks include severe allergic reactions and complex sleep-related behaviors, which may include sleep-driving. Sleep driving is defined as driving while not fully awake after ingestion of a sedative-hypnotic product, with no memory of the event.
“There are a number of prescription sleep aids available that are well-tolerated and effective for many people,” said Steven Galson, M.D., MPH, director of FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “After reviewing the available post-marketing adverse event information for these products, FDA concluded that labeling changes are necessary to inform health care providers and consumers about risks.”
A study recently published demonstrates that individuals diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may have hope of regaining cognitive functions once they begin treatment for the apnea.
Study results, published in the December 2006 issue of CHEST, show the majority of trial participants who suffered memory-impairment prior to treatment demonstrated normal memory performance after three months of optimal continuous positive airway pressure CPAP use.
A CPAP is a medical device, which, in the simplest of terms, is an air generator set to deliver a prescribed, constant flow of air, keeping the airway open and preventing apnea.
On an average day, the human mouth will normally produce two to four pints of saliva — enough to fill a half gallon carton of milk. While most people don’t often think about saliva, it plays a role in almost everything that happens in the mouth. It protects, lubricates, and buffers the mouth, and saliva helps people with speaking functions, digesting food, and flowing bacteria away from teeth to keep the mouth clean.
But for millions of people, including many CPAP and BiPAP users, it may feel like their mouths produce almost no moisture at all, possibly hindering these functions. These individuals may suffer from a health condition known as dry mouth, or xerostomia, a feeling of inadequate saliva or dryness in the mouth. Now, Oasis Moisturizing Mouthwash and Mouth Spray, from the makers of Sensodyne, offers solutions for those who suffer from dry mouth.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) affects up to 20 percent of men in western cultures, five percent of whom experience significant physical symptoms.
A study published in September 2006 issue of the Journal of Forensic Sciences finds that sex offenders who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea experience more harmful psychological symptoms than do sex offenders with normal sleep patterns.
Four of every 10 obesity surgery patients develop a complication, such as a hernia, within six months of leaving the hospital, according to a new study by HHS’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The study is the most extensive to date on post-surgical complications from obesity operations based on insurance claims data.
The researchers found that the complication rate among non-elderly obesity surgery patients with private insurance increased by 81 percent following hospital discharge — from 21.9 percent while they were still hospitalized to 39.6 percent by the end of the 180-day study period.
Women who sleep five hours or less per night weigh more on average than those who sleep seven hours, according to a study. The study demonstrated that women who slept for six hours were 12 percent more likely to have major weight gain and six percent more likely to become obese compared with women who slept seven hours a night.
Other findings from the study showed women who slept for five hours per night were 32 percent more likely to experience major weight gain (defined as an increase of 33 pounds or more) and 15 percent more likely to become obese over the course of the 16-year study compared with women who slept seven hours.
Contrary to even the recommendations of its own section on breastfeeding, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released an statement from its Task Force on SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine has problems accepting. Recommendations that advise against parent-infant bed-sharing and support the generic use of pacifiers imply a “truly astounding triumph of ethnocentric assumptions over commonsense and medical research,” according to Nancy Wight, M.D., president of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine.
