Long Sleep Duration and Stroke-Highly Linked, Poorly Understood.

Stroke is one of the leading causes of disability and mortality. Both short and long sleep durations are associated with adverse health outcomes. Cross-sectional studies have shown an increased prevalence of stroke in long sleepers. Long sleep duration increases stroke incidence and mortality in prospective epidemiological studies. Accumulating evidence suggests that the magnitude of the association between sleep and stroke appears to be stronger for longer sleep than shorter sleep, yielding a J-shaped curve. Potential links between long sleep duration and stroke include increased incidence of diabetes and atrial fibrillation, elevated levels of inflammation, arterial stiffness, and blood pressure variability. Long sleep duration is a strong marker and a plausible risk factor for stroke and should be considered in future scoring for risk stratification and stroke prevention.

Treatment of sleep disorders after traumatic brain injury.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Determine whether treatment of sleep disorders identified in brain injured adults would result in resolution of those sleep disorders and improvement of symptoms and daytime function. METHODS: Prospective evaluation of unselected traumatic brain injury patients with nocturnal polysomnography (NPSG), multiple sleep latency test (MSLT), Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and neuropsychological testing including Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT), Profile of Mood States (POMS), and Functional Outcome of Sleep Questionnaire (FOSQ) before and after treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), modafinil (200 mg) for narcolepsy and posttraumatic hypersomnia (PTH), or pramipexole (0.375 mg) for periodic limb movements in sleep (PLMS). SETTING: Three academic medical centers. PARTICIPANTS: Fifty-seven (57) adults > or = 3 months post traumatic brain injury (TBI). MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Abnormal sleep studies were found in 22 subjects (39%), of whom 13 (23%) had OSA, 2 (3%) had PTH, 3 (5%) had narcolepsy, 4 (7%) had PLMS, and 12 had objective excessive daytime sleepiness with MSLT score < 10 minutes. Apneas, hypopneas, and snoring were eliminated by CPAP in OSA subjects, but there was no significant change in MSLT scores. Periodic limb movements were eliminated with pramipexole. One of 3 narcolepsy subjects and 1 of 2 PTH subjects had resolution of hypersomnia with modafinil. There was no significant change in FOSQ, POMS, or PVT results after treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment of sleep disorders after TBI may result in polysomnographic resolution without change in sleepiness or neuropsychological function.

Cognitive impairment in patients with traumatic brain injury and obstructive sleep apnea.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the impact of comorbid obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) on the cognitive functioning of traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients. DESIGN: A case-control study. Neuropsychologic test performances of TBI patients with OSA were compared with those who did not have OSA. The diagnosis of OSA was based on standard criteria using nocturnal polysomnography. SETTING: Three academic medical centers with level I trauma centers, accredited sleep disorders centers, and rehabilitation medicine programs. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-five TBI patients who were part of a project that assessed the effect of sleep disorders in a larger sample of consecutively recruited TBI patients. There were 19 patients with TBI and OSA. They were compared with 16 TBI patients without OSA who were comparable in terms of age, education, severity of injury (when available), time postinjury, and Glasgow Coma Scale scores (when available). INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The Psychomotor Vigilance Test, Rey Complex Figure Test, Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, digit span test from the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised, and finger-tapping test. RESULTS: The TBI patients with OSA performed significantly worse than the non-sleep disordered TBI patients on verbal and visual delayed-recall measures. The groups performed comparably on motor, visual construction, and attention tests. The TBI patients with OSA made more attention lapses (reaction times >/=500ms), but showed comparable fastest and slowest reaction times on a measure of sustained attention. CONCLUSIONS: OSA is associated with more impairment of sustained attention and memory in TBI patients. It is possible that early identification and treatment of OSA may improve cognitive, and thus potentially functional, outcomes of TBI patients with this disease.

Prevalence and consequences of sleep disorders in traumatic brain injury.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Determine prevalence and consequences of sleepiness and sleep disorders after traumatic brain injury (TBI). METHODS: Prospective evaluation with polysomnography (PSG), multiple sleep latency test (MSLT), Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and neuropsychological testing including Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT), Profile of Mood States (POMS), and Functional Outcome of Sleep Questionnaire (FOSQ). SETTING: Three academic medical centers with level I trauma centers, accredited sleep disorders centers, and rehabilitative medicine programs. Participants; Eighty-seven (87) adults at least 3 months post TBI. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Abnormal sleep studies were found in 40 subjects (46%), including 20 (23%) with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), 10 (11%) with posttraumatic hypersomnia (PTH), 5 (6%) with narcolepsy, and 6 (7%) with periodic limb movements in sleep (PLMS). Among all subjects, 22 (25%) were found to have objective excessive daytime sleepiness with MSLT score <10 minutes. There was no correlation between ESS score and MSLT (r = 0.10). There were no differences in age, race, sex, or education between the sleepy and non-sleepy subjects. Likewise, there were no differences in severity of injury or time after injury between sleepy and non-sleepy subjects. Sleepy subjects had a greater body mass index (BMI) than those who were not sleepy (p = 0.01). OSA was more common in obese subjects (BMI > or =30, p < 0.001). Sleepy subjects demonstrated poorer PVT scores (p < 0.05), better self-reported sleep related quality of life (FOSQ scores [p < 0.05]), and no differences in POMS. CONCLUSIONS: There is a high prevalence of sleep disorders (46%) and of excessive daytime sleepiness (25%) in subjects with TBI. Sleepy subjects may be more impaired than comparable non-sleepy TBI subjects, yet be unaware of problems. Given the high prevalence of OSA (23%), PTH (11%), and narcolepsy (7%) in this population, there is a clinical indication for NPSG and MSLT.

The association of tongue scalloping with obstructive sleep apnea and related sleep pathology.

OBJECTIVE: The association between OSAS and patient history and physical exam findings is previously established; however, to our knowledge there are no studies that evaluate the role of tongue scalloping as a reliable clinical indicator for OSA, snoring, or the presence of other sleep pathology as evidenced by polysomnography. This study evaluates the hypothesis that such an association exists. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Sixty-one otolaryngology clinic patients were evaluated by history and physical exam for the presence and degree of tongue scalloping, snoring, and other previously established clinical indicators for sleep-disordered breathing and obstructive apnea. Twenty-five of the 61 study patients were additionally evaluated by overnight polysomnography to provide conclusive diagnosis of sleep pathology. The degree of tongue scalloping was graded from 0 to 3 and its significance as a screening, diagnostic, and predictive factor for sleep pathology was then statistically determined. RESULTS: Twenty-seven patients (44%) had known or newly documented OSA and 47 (77%) had a history of snoring. Twenty-seven patients (44%) had some degree of tongue scalloping (1-3) and 74% of these patients were male. The presence of any degree of tongue scalloping (grade 1-3) in patients with known or newly documented OSA showed sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of 52%, 68%, 70%, and 50% respectively. The presence of tongue scalloping in patients with either known snoring history or newly documented snoring showed sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of 47%, 64%, 81%, and 26% respectively. Presence of tongue scalloping was 71% specific for abnormal sleep efficiency (<85%), 70% specific for abnormal AHI (>5), and 86% specific for nocturnal desaturation >4% below baseline. Presence of tongue scalloping also showed PPV of 67% for abnormal AHI, 89% for apnea or hypopnea, and 89% for nocturnal desaturation. Presence and severity of tongue scalloping showed positive correlation with increasing Mallampati and modified Mallampati airway classification. CONCLUSIONS: In high-risk patients we found tongue scalloping to be predictive of sleep pathology. Tongue scalloping was also associated with pathologic polysomnography data and abnormal Mallampati grades. We feel the finding of tongue scalloping is a useful clinical indicator of sleep pathology and that its presence should prompt the physician to inquire about snoring history.