Latest Sleep and breathing Stories

Researchers at the University of Chicago have discovered a technique that is able to determine whether a child has obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) or habitual snoring by screening their urine."These findings open up the possibility of developing a relatively simple urine test that could detect OSA in snoring children. This would alleviate the need for costly and inconvenient sleep studies in children who snore, only about 20 to 30 percent of whom actually have OSA," said lead author...

Overweight individuals are not just at greater risk of having sleep-disordered-breathing (SDB), they are also likely to suffer greater consequences, according to new research.According to the study, to be published in the October 15 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, an official publication of the American Thoracic Society, excess weight increased the severity of oxygen desaturation in the blood of individuals with SDB during and after apneas and...

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ResMed Inc. (NYSE: RMD), a leading developer, manufacturer and distributor of sleep and respiratory medical equipment, announced today that it has acquired Laboratoires Narval. Based in France, Laboratoires Narval manufactures and distributes the Narval O.R.M.(TM), an innovative mandibular repositioning device (MRD) that offers a solution to patients for snoring and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), especially for those with mild OSA. With this...

BELMONT, Calif., Sept. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Ventus Medical, a privately-held medical device company focused on improving the lives of patients with sleep-disordered breathing, today announced that the company's PROVENT(R) Sleep Apnea Therapy received the Runners-Up Award in The Wall Street Journal 2009 Technology Innovation Awards, Medical Devices category. The results were published in the September 14, 2009 edition of The Wall Street Journal. (Logo:...

A study in the July 1 issue of the journal SLEEP identified a distinct ECG-derived spectrographic phenotype, designated as narrow-band elevated low frequency coupling (e-LFCNB), that is associated with prevalent hypertension, stroke, greater severity of sleep disordered breathing and sleep fragmentation in patients suffering from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).Results indicate that the odds ratio for prevalent stroke was 1.65 [CI: 1.19𔃀.29] in those with versus without the presence of...

Increasingly severe sleep-related breathing disorders in older men appear to be associated with a greater risk of abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias), according to a report in the June 22 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. In addition, different types of breathing problems appear more closely associated with different categories of arrhythmia.Sleep-disordered breathing is a common condition, according to background information in the article. It causes...

Infants and young toddlers with obstructive sleep apnea and sleep disordered breathing experience significant improvement following surgical treatment of the ailment, according to an invited article in the June 2009 issue of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.The study evaluated 73 cases in which children younger than two years old were treated for obstructive sleep apnea through the removal of the adenoids, tonsils, or both (adenotonsillectomy). Those treated through surgery experienced...

 A study in the June 1 issue of the journal SLEEP found that waist circumference and body mass index (BMI) are consistent, independent risk factors for all severity levels of sleep disordered breathing (SDB) in children, suggesting that as with adult SDB, metabolic factors are important risk factors for childhood SDB.Results indicate that BMI and waist circumference, but not neck circumference, were significant and strong predictors of SDB at all severity levels "“ primary snoring, mild...

Sleep disordered breathing -- sleep apnea -- is highly prevalent among retired National Football League players, particularly linemen, U.S. researchers said. The study involving 167 players showed that 60 percent of linemen, average age of 54, had sleep disordered breathing, as defined by having at least 10 sleep-related breathing disorder episodes, such as pauses in breathing, per hour. Linemen had an average of 18.1 episodes per hour. The monitoring of breathing at night was conducted...

ORLANDO, Fla., March 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Sleep disordered breathing, also known as sleep apnea, is highly prevalent among retired National Football League (NFL) players, and particularly in linemen, according to Mayo Clinic research. This study, involving 167 players, adds to the growing body of research examining the relationship between sleep apnea and heart disease, the investigators say. The study will be presented Tuesday, March 31, 2009 at 9:30 a.m. EDT at the American...