News

Sleep discovery could lead to therapies that may improve memory

Mar 13 2013...

A team of sleep researchers led by University of California, Riverside psychologist Sara C. Mednick has confirmed the mechanism that enables the brain to consolidate memory and found that a commonly prescribed sleep aid enhances the process. Those discoveries could lead to new sleep therapies that will improve memory for aging adults and those with dementia, Alzheimer’s and schizophrenia.

“We found that a very common sleep drug can be used to increase verbal memory,” said Mednick. “This is the first study to show you can manipulate sleep to improve memory. It suggests sleep drugs could be a powerful tool to tailor sleep to particular memory disorders.” READ MORE>>

Sleeping pills could have harmful side effects for COPD patients

Feb 13 2013...

Researchers from St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto have found that a popular class of drugs commonly used to treat sleep and mood symptoms continues to be frequently prescribed despite being known to have potentially life-threatening side effects. Previous studies have linked benzodiazepines – a medication class that may be used in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to treat symptoms of insomnia, depression, anxiety and shortness of breath – with adverse outcomes, but until now there has been little information on how frequently it's prescribed or who is using it.

“I see a large number of COPD patients taking this medication class to help relieve disease-related symptoms like insomnia, depression and anxiety," said Dr. Vozoris, lead author and respirologist at St. Michael's. "But considering the potential respiratory side-effects, and the well-documented neurocognitive side effects like memory loss, decreased alertness, falls and increased risk of motor vehicle accidents, the high frequency of benzodiazepine use in COPD is very concerning." READ MORE>>

Sleeping pills more than quadruples fall risk

Nov 30 2012...

Researchers from the Mayo Clinic have found that zolpidem, the drug often branded as Ambien and prescribed to help patients in hospitals sleep, has been associated with a significantly increased risk of falls.

As a result of the study, the clinic is now phasing out zolpidem and moving toward sleep enhancement techniques that are not based on drugs and which they believe are safe and probably more effective. READ MORE>>

Intermezzo approved for as-needed treatment of sleep interruptions

Dec 14 2011...

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new sleep aid for people who wake in the middle of the night. Intermezzo was approved Nov. 23 for as-needed treatment when nighttime awakening is followed by difficulty returning to sleep. READ MORE>>

Sleep Drug during Depression Treatment can Solve Insomnia Symptoms

Aug 15 2010...

Insomnia and depression are often closely related. The relationship can go both ways: depression can cause insomnia, and insomnia can lead to depression. READ MORE>>