SLEEP Meeting

Personalizing treatment for narcolepsy requires shared decision-making between patients and clinicians to understand the most important symptoms that need to be treated and the right therapy, said Michael Thorpy, MD, director of the Sleep-Wake Disorders Center at Montefiore Medical Center and professor of neurology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Many socioeconomic factors, such as neighborhood factors, access to care, and education can influence sleep, explained Cinthya Pena Orbea, MD, assistant professor of medicine, Cleveland Clinic.

Once-nightly sodium oxybate was associated with a statistically significant reduction in cataplexy episodes among patients with narcolepsy, explained Michael Thorpy, MD, director of the Sleep-Wake Disorders Center at Montefiore Medical Center and professor of neurology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

A panel of providers and patients with narcolepsy who are parents shared the struggles and possible support tools that neurologists and other providers should be aware of when caring for patients with narcolepsy who are pregnant or postpartum.

During her presentation at SLEEP 2022, Isabelle Arnulf, MD, PhD, a neurologist and professor, detailed the long list of challenges for understanding different aspects of idiopathic hypersomnia and called for more attention to be devoted to future research.

While consumer wearables for sleep are popular, evidence-based guidelines need to be established to interpret data coming from these technologies, said Sean Drummond, PhD, professor of clinical neuroscience, Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health at Monash University.

Presenters from SLEEP 2022 contextualized some of the recent research showing the impact of sleep disorders on aspects of mental health, including depressive symptoms and suicide.

Michael Johnson, CEO of Rhinomed, expands on the findings of the 2022 Annual Global Sleep and Snoring Report conducted in February 2022, which found that people are not getting nearly as much sleep as they should.

Behavioral and physiological components of type 1 diabetes and its management can contribute to worsened sleep and health outcomes, which can vary by age, according to Stacey Simon, PhD, sleep psychologist and associate professor, University of Colorado Denver, Children's Hospital Colorado.

Susan Redline, MD, MPH, the SLEEP 2022 meeting keynote speaker, catalogued the evidence proving that continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) does improve health outcomes—refuting a recent controversial report that claims otherwise.

Opioids have been used for hundreds of years to treat restless leg syndrome (RLS), but there is currently a registry to understand the long-term effectiveness of opioids to treat RLS , said John Winkelman, MD, PhD, medical director, sleep disorders clinical research program, Massachusetts General Hospital.

A panel of experts at the SLEEP 2022 conference argued against considering race a risk factor for health complications and disrupted sleep, saying that being on the receiving end of racial discrimination is the true risk factor.

Posters from the SLEEP 2022 conference revealed some of the interaction between idiopathic hypersomnia and different aspects of life, including weight changes and interpersonal relationships.

Susan Redline, MD, MPH, professor of sleep medicine and epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, gives a preview of her SLEEP 2022 keynote and discusses her 30 years of sleep epidemiology advocacy.

From discussions on policies of time change to the neurobiology of narcolepsy, sessions at the SLEEP 2022 conference taking place June 4-8 will span a broad range of topics.

Michael Thorpy, MD, director, Sleep-Wake Disorders Center, Montefiore Medical Center, and professor of neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, speaks on the efficacy of solriamfetol observed in patients with excessive daytime sleepiness associated with narcolepsy, and which patient groups may best benefit from this therapy.

A roundup of technology-related research presented at SLEEP 2021.

Experts discuss their research on the impact of sex differences in alcohol use disorder (AUD)-related sleep health.

Results of a post-hoc analysis underscore the efficacy of the Idiopathic Hypersomnia Severity Scale to measure symptoms of idiopathic hypersomia.

Several studies presented at SLEEP 2021 highlight the negative impact COVID-19 has had on youth sleep health.

Anne Marie Morse, DO, pediatric neurologist and sleep medicine specialist, Geisinger, discusses factors contributing to insufficient screening of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in patients with stroke and how a team-based approach fared in expediting diagnosis.

Research presented at SLEEP 2021 underscores the important role of sleep for firefighters, soldiers, and flight crew members.

Rajasi Mills, MS, vice president, SleepIQ Health, Sleep Number, speaks on the practical use of Sleep Number 360 smart beds in measuring sleep metrics and leveraging data to identify symptoms characteristic of COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses.

Isabelle Arnulf, MD, PhD, senior neurologist, and professor, Neurology, Sorbonne Universités, Pierre and Marie Curie University, discusses findings of significant improvement observed in patients with idiopathic hypersomnia undergoing lower-sodium oxybate treatment.

Katharine Simon, PhD, clinical pediatric psychologist, and postdoctoral researcher, Sleep and Cognition Lab, UC Irvine, explains the influence of the autonomic nervous system on body functions and recommendations for patients experiencing autonomic imbalance and sleep dysregulation.

A session presented at Virtual SLEEP 2021 highlights the social and environmental factors that impact sleep health.

Shalini Paruthi, MD, medical codirector, St. Luke’s Hospital, Sleep Medicine and Research Center, and cochair of SLEEP 2021, highlights discussion topics that will address best practices for evaluating, diagnosing, and treating common sleep disorders.

Michael Thorpy, MD, director of the Sleep-Wake Disorders Center, Montefiore, and professor of neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, discusses aspects of the Idiopathic Hypersomnia Severity Scale, and how it fared in measuring symptoms of idiopathic hypersomnia compared with traditional scales.

Abstracts presented at SLEEP 2021 include real-world data characterizing individuals with central disorders of hypersomnolence.

Rebecca Spencer, PhD, professor, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, and co-chair of SLEEP 2021, highlights takeaways from this year’s meeting and discussions she’s looking forward to.