Middle-aged men show higher sensitivity of sleep to the arousing effects of corticotropin-releasing hormone than young men: clinical implications.

The prevalence of insomnia associated with emotional stress increases markedly in middle-age. Both the top and end hormones of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, i.e. CRH and glucocorticoids, stimulate arousal/wakefulness and inhibit slow wave (deep) sleep in experimental animals and man. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that middle-age is characterized by increased sensitivity to the sleep-disturbing effects of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. We studied 12 healthy middle-aged (45.1 +/- 4.9) and 12 healthy young (22.7 +/- 2.8) men by monitoring their sleep by polysomnography for 4 consecutive nights, including in tandem 1 adaptation and 2 baseline nights and a night during which we administered equipotent doses of ovine CRH (1 microg/kg, iv bolus) 10 min after sleep onset. Analyses included comparisons within and between groups using multiple ANOVA and regression analysis. Although both middle-aged and young men responded to CRH with similar elevations of ACTH and cortisol, the former had significantly more wakefulness and suppression of slow wave sleep compared with baseline sleep; in contrast, the latter showed no change. Also, comparison of the change in sleep patterns from baseline to the CRH night in the young men to the respective change observed in middle-aged men showed that middle-age was associated with significantly higher wakefulness and significantly greater decrease in slow wave sleep than in young age. We conclude that middle-aged men show increased vulnerability of sleep to stress hormones, possibly resulting in impairments in the quality of sleep during periods of stress. We suggest that changes in sleep physiology associated with middle-age play a significant role in the marked increase of prevalence of insomnia in middle-age.

Circadian interleukin-6 secretion and quantity and depth of sleep.

Patients with pathologically increased daytime sleepiness and fatigue have elevated levels of circulating interleukin-6 (IL-6). The latter is an inflammatory cytokine, which causes sickness manifestations, including somnolence and fatigue, and activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. In this study, we examined: 1) the relation between serial measurements of plasma IL-6 and quantity and depth of sleep, evaluated by polysomnography; and 2) the effects of sleep deprivation on the nyctohemeral pattern of IL-6 secretion. Eight healthy young male volunteers were sampled for 24 h twice, at the baseline state, after a normal night's sleep and after total overnight sleep deprivation. At the baseline state, IL-6 was secreted in a biphasic circadian pattern with two nadirs at 0800 and 2100 and two zeniths at 1900 and 0500 (P < 0.01). The baseline amount of sleep correlated negatively with the overall daytime secretion of the cytokine (P < 0.05). Also, depth of sleep at baseline correlated negatively with the postdeprivation increase of daytime secretion of IL-6 (P < 0.05). Sleep deprivation changed the temporal pattern of circadian IL-6 secretion but not the overall amount. Indeed, during the post-deprivation period, the mean daytime (0800-2200 h) levels of IL-6 were significantly higher (P < 0.05), whereas the nighttime (2200-0600 h) levels were lower than the predeprivation values. Thus, sleep-deprived subjects had daytime oversecretion and nighttime under-secretion of IL-6; the former might be responsible for their daylong somnolence and fatigue, the latter for the better quality (depth) of their sleep. These data suggest that a good night's sleep is associated with decreased daytime secretion of IL-6 and a good sense of well-being and that good sleep is associated with decreased exposure of tissues to the proinflammatory and potentially detrimental actions of IL-6. Sleep deprivation increases daytime IL-6 and causes somnolence and fatigue during the next day, whereas postdeprivation decreases nighttime IL-6 and is associated with deeper sleep.

Polymorphisms of amiloride-sensitive sodium channel subunits in five sporadic cases of pseudohypoaldosteronism: do they have pathologic potential?

Pseudohypoaldosteronism (PHA) is characterized by congenital resistance of the kidney and/or other mineralocorticoid target tissues to aldosterone, resulting in excessive salt wasting. Mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) and postreceptor defects in the aldosterone-responsive amiloride-sensitive sodium channel (ENaC) subunits have been suggested as potential loci of the defect in this disease, whereas recently defects in MR and ENaC subunits were reported in familial PHA cases. Here we studied the ENaC subunit alpha, beta, and gamma complementary DNAs (cDNAs) in a series of five sporadic cases of PHA, whose MR cDNA contained nonconservative homozygous (C944-->T944, Ala241-->Val241) and/or a conservative heterozygous substitutions (A760-->G760, Ileu180-->Val180), which, however, were also present at high frequencies in a control population with apparently normal salt conservation. We found a nonconservative substitution (A2086-->G2086, Thr663-->Ala663) in the alphaENaC in all five of our patients, two of whom were homozygous and three of whom were heterozygous for this alteration, which was also present in the homozygous and heterozygous form in 31% and 64% of control subjects, respectively. We also found a nonconservative homozygous substitution (C1006-->G1006, Pro336-->Ara336) in the betaENaC and three nonconservative and conservative homozygous substitutions (T554-->A554, Trp178-->Arg178; C1526-->G1526, Pro501-->Ala501; T1862-->G1862, Ser614-->Ala614) in the gammaENaC of all five of our patients and in a substantial proportion of control subjects. Interestingly, when the patient group was compared to controls, a significantly increased concurrence of the MR and alphaENaC polymorphisms was found in the patients (P<0.025). We conclude that the changes identified in the cDNA of the three ENaC subunits in the patients with sporadic PHA are polymorphisms, which on their own have no apparent pathophysiological significance. We hypothesize, however, that these polymorphisms might influence salt conservation negatively if they are present concurrently with other genetic defects of the MR or other proteins that participate in sodium homeostasis. The latter would be compatible with a sporadic presentation and digenic or multigenic expression and heredity in PHA.

Chronic insomnia and activity of the stress system: a preliminary study.

The aim of this study was to assess whether there is an association between chronic insomnia and the activity of the stress system. Fifteen young adult insomniacs (<40 years) were studied. After an adaptation night, each subject was recorded in the sleep laboratory for three consecutive nights. During this period, 24-hour urine specimens were collected for measurements of urinary free cortisol (UFC), catecholamines, and growth hormone (GH). The 24-hour UFC levels were positively correlated with total wake time (p=0.05). In addition, 24-hour urinary levels of catecholamine metabolites, DHPG, and DOPAC were positively correlated with percent stage 1 sleep (p<0.05) and wake time after sleep onset (WTASO) (p<0.05). Norepinephrine tended to correlate positively with percent stage 1 sleep (p=0.063) and WTASO (p=0.074), and negatively with percent slow-wave sleep (p=0.059). Twenty-four-hour urinary GH excretion was detectable in only three insomniacs, two of whom had low indices of sleep disturbance. We conclude that, in chronic insomnia, the activity of both limbs of the stress system (i.e., the HPA axis and the sympathetic system) relates positively to the degree of objective sleep disturbance.

Blood pressure in children and adolescents with Cushing's syndrome before and after surgical care.

Approximately half of children and adolescents with Cushing's syndrome develop hypertension. To examine the role of hypercortisolism in the pathogenesis of hypertension in young patients and to establish its reversibility, we studied 31 hypertensive children and adolescents with Cushing's syndrome (systolic, diastolic, and/or mean blood pressure more than 2 SD U for age and sex) from a total of 63 patients before, and for a period of 1 yr after surgical cure. Preoperatively, 93.5%, 42%, and 45% of these patients presented with an increase of the systolic, diastolic, and mean blood pressure, respectively. The systolic blood pressure remained increased in 30.7%, 15.8%, and 5.5% of patients at 3, 6, and 12 months after surgical cure, respectively. The diastolic and mean blood pressure completely normalized by 3 months after surgical cure. A significant, positive correlation was observed between the systolic blood pressure and the duration of the disease, but no correlation was seen with the 24-h urinary free cortisol values and/or the patients' body mass indices. The lack of correlation between 24-h urinary free cortisol values and blood pressure suggests that hypercortisolism influences blood pressure through multiple pathways. The positive correlation between the systolic blood pressure and the duration of the disease points towards the deleterious effects of prolonged hypercortisolism and the significance of early diagnosis and treatment. The fact that the blood pressure normalized within a year from the correction of hypercortisolism suggests that, as a rule, young patients with hypercortisolism do not develop essential hypertension.

A novel mutation of the luteinizing hormone receptor gene causing male gonadotropin-independent precocious puberty.

Familial male-limited precocious puberty (FMPP) is an autosomal dominant gonadotropin-independent disorder. Affected males generally develop signs of precocious puberty in early childhood. They typically show Leydig cell hyperplasia and increased testosterone production typical for their age, whereas circulating LH concentrations remain prepubertal. Several dominant point mutations of the LH receptor gene were identified in pedigrees with familial male-limited precocious puberty and were shown to cosegregate with the disease. Here we report a novel heterozygote point mutation in the LH receptor gene of a Brazilian boy with gonadotropin-independent precocious puberty. This mutation substitutes alanine 568 with valine at the carboxyterminus of the third cytosolic loop of the LH receptor. The unoccupied mutant receptors confer constitutive activation of adenyl cyclase activity when expressed in COS-7 cells, resulting in 4-fold higher cAMP concentrations over baseline compared with cells expressing an equivalent number of wild-type receptors. The affinity of the mutant receptors to 125I-labeled human LH was not altered compared with the wild type. Mutations of the homologue alanine residue in the alpha 1-adrenergic (in vitro), FSH (in vitro), and TSH (naturally occurring) receptors also result in constitutive adenyl cyclase activation, suggesting that this alanine residue is crucial for signal transduction and a potential site for upregulatory/oncogenic mutations in G-protein coupled receptors.

No apparent mineralocorticoid receptor defect in a series of sporadic cases of pseudohypoaldosteronism.

Pseudohypoaldosteronism (PHA) is characterized by congenital resistance of the kidney and/or other mineralocorticoid target tissues to aldosterone, resulting in excessive salt wasting. Although the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) was suggested as a potential locus of the defect in this disease, no such abnormality was found in 3 recently reported cases, one of whom belongs to this series of 5 patients. Molecular studies of the MR complementary DNA and gene in this series of sporadic cases of pseudohypoaldosteronism are reported. Four of these patients had multiple mineralocorticoid target tissue resistance, whereas 1 had transient isolated resistance in the kidney. A nonconservative homozygous mutation (C944-->T944, Ala241-->Val241) was identified in the complementary DNA of 4 of the patients but was also found in 62 of 100 normal alleles. One of these 4 patients had an additional conservative heterozygous mutation (A760-->G760, Ileu180-->Val180), which was also present in 11 of 100 normal alleles. None of the patients had any abnormalities in the first untranslated exon and 0.9 kilobases of the 5'-regulatory region of the MR gene, which were fully sequenced and compared with the normal sequence. It is concluded that the mutations identified in 4 of these 5 patients with PHA are polymorphisms, which on their own have no apparent pathophysiological significance. It is hypothesized that the defect causing PHA might be in a post-MR step of aldosterone action or in an unsuspected nonclassic receptor for this hormone.