Study Objective:. To investigate the structural changes in patients with chronic primary insomnia and the relationships with clinical features of insom

To investigate differences in brain gray matter concentrations or volumes in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSA) and healthy volunteers. Optimized voxel-based morphometry, an automated processing technique for MRI, was used to characterize structural differences in gray matter in newly diagnosed male patients. University hospital The study consisted of 36 male OSA and 31 non-apneic male healthy volunteers matched for age (mean age, 44.8 years). Using the t-test, gray matter differences were identified. The statistical significance level was set to a false discovery rate P < 0.05 with an extent threshold of k_E > 200 voxels. The mean apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) of patients was 52.5/ h. On visual inspection of MRI, no structural abnormalities were observed. Compared to healthy volunteers, the gray matter concentrations of OSA patients were significantly decreased in the left gyrus rectus, bilateral superior frontal gyri, left precentral gyrus, bilateral frontomarginal gyri, bilateral anterior cingulate gyri, right insular gyrus, bilateral caudate nuclei, bilateral thalami, bilateral amygdalo-hippocampi, bilateral inferior temporal gyri, and bilateral quadrangular and biventer lobules in the cerebellum (false discovery rate P < 0.05). Gray matter volume was not different between OSA patients and healthy volunteers. The brain gray matter deficits may suggest that memory impairment, affective and cardiovascular disturbances, executive dysfunctions, and dysregulation of autonomic and respiratory control frequently found in OSA patients might be related to morphological differences in the brain gray matter areas.

S and full research articles published in SLEEP, the official journal of the APSS. Sleep and sleep disorder scientific findings.

Obesity is a common disorder with many complications. Although chronodisruption plays a role in obesity, few epidemiological studies have investigated the association between artificial light at night (ALAN) and obesity. Since sleep health is related to both obesity and ALAN, we investigated the association between outdoor ALAN and obesity after adjusting for sleep health. We also investigated the association between outdoor ALAN and sleep health. This cross-sectional survey included 8526 adults, 39–70 years of age, who participated in the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study. Outdoor ALAN data were obtained from satellite images provided by the US Defense Meteorological Satellite Program. We obtained individual data regarding outdoor ALAN; body mass index; depression; and sleep health including sleep duration, mid-sleep time, and insomnia; and other demographic data including age, sex, educational level, type of residential building, monthly household income, alcohol consumption, smoking status and consumption of caffeine or alcohol before sleep. A logistic regression model was used to investigate the association between outdoor ALAN and obesity. The prevalence of obesity differed significantly according to sex (women 47% versus men 39%, p < 0.001) and outdoor ALAN (high 55% versus low 40%, p < 0.001). Univariate logistic regression analysis revealed a significant association between high outdoor ALAN and obesity (odds ratio [OR] 1.24, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.14–1.35, p < 0.001). Furthermore, multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that high outdoor ALAN was significantly associated with obesity after adjusting for age and sex (OR 1.25, 95% CI 1.14–1.37, p < 0.001) and even after controlling for various other confounding factors including age, sex, educational level, type of residential building, monthly household income, alcohol consumption, smoking, consumption of caffeine or alcohol before sleep, delayed sleep pattern, short sleep duration and habitual snoring (OR 1.20, 95% CI 1.06–1.36, p = 0.003). The findings of our study provide epidemiological evidence that outdoor ALAN is significantly related to obesity.

Noh HJ, et al. J Clin Neurol. 2012 Jun;8(2):130-138. https://doi.org/10.3988/jcn.2012.8.2.130