OBJECTIVE To evaluate hypersomnolence in patients affected by fibromyalgia syndrome. METHODS Thirty consecutive patients affected by fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) (28 F) completed a sleep questionnaire and underwent the following evaluations: lung function tests; polysomnography; the Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS), which measures sleep complaints and daytime hypersomnolence; and the visual anal...

Sleep-related respiratory disturbances (SRD) in patients with muscle diseases may have significant clinical implications, because the patients frequently die at night. The aims of the study were to :1) assess the presence and severity of sleep-related respiratory disturbances in patients with Duchenne muscular distrophy (DMD); and 2) investigate the relationship of sleep-related respiratory dis...

We investigated the effect on daytime respiratory function and quality of sleep, of providing adequate ventilation either by intermittent positive pressure ventilation (IPPV) or by continuous positive airways pressure (CPAP) both administered through a nose mask in a group of seven patients with severe thoracic kyphoscoliosis. All night control sleep studies were performed with and without vent...

Daytime complaints like fatigue, sleepiness and cognitive dysfunction in neuromuscular disease can be due to nocturnal hypercapnia and hypoxemia. Daytime respiratory diagnostics does not reflect sleep disordered breathing. Nocturnal pulse oxymetry and capnography were performed in 11 patients (15-75 years old) with different slowly progressive neuromuscular diseases. Only four patients complain...

Experimental fasting has been shown to alter the sleep-wakefulness pattern in various species. As fasting during Ramadan is distinct from experimental fasting, the physiological and behavioural changes occurring during Ramadan fasting may differ from those occurring during experimental fasting. There has been increased interest in recent years in sleep changes and daytime sleepiness during Rama...

BACKGROUND COPD is primarily the disease of the lungs; nevertheless, multiple systemic manifestations including poor sleep quality and sleep disturbances have been linked to this illness. Administration of sedative hypnotics is not recommended in COPD patients, as these drugs suppress the ventilatory response and exacerbate sleep-related disorders. Melatonin is an alternative medication that ha...

Epidemiological data in the general population on daytime napping are scarce (1-4). This paucity of information reflects a disinterest from epidemiologists probably due to such popular beliefs that napping is a benign lifestyle habit shared mostly by elderly persons or a cultural phenomenon encountered primarily in warm, southern climates. Numerous clinical studies, however, have explored the f...

Respiratory muscle weakness in neuromuscular disease causes significant morbidity and mortality. The published data on respiratory muscle activity and breathing during sleep in normal subjects, the impact of respiratory muscle weakness on sleep and breathing and the relations to daytime respiratory function in neuromuscular disease are reviewed here. In normal subjects during sleep upper airway...