[How I treat... chronic insomnia by cognitive and behavioral therapy]. / COMMENT JE TRAITE ... l'insomnie chronique par la thérapie comportementale et cognitive.

Today, insomnia is predominantly treated by pharmacotherapy. Yet, cognitive-behavioral therapy has better long-term outcomes. In this paper, we describe the basic principles of this short-term psychotherapeutic treatment. It combines methods of sleep restriction and stimulus control, the learning of relaxation techniques, advices on sleep hygiene and cognitive therapy techniques applied to cognitions that overwhelm insomniac moments.

Recruitment of lung volume during surgery neither affects the postoperative spirometry nor the risk of hypoxaemia after laparoscopic gastric bypass in morbidly obese patients: a randomized controlled study.

BACKGROUND: Intraoperative recruitment manoeuvres (RMs) combined with PEEP reverse the decrease in functional residual capacity (FRC) associated with anaesthesia and improve intraoperative oxygenation. Whether these benefits persist after operation remains unknown. We tested the hypothesis that intraoperative RMs associated with PEEP improve postoperative spirometry including FRC and reduce the incidence of postoperative hypoxaemia in morbidly obese (MO) patients undergoing laparoscopic gastric bypass. METHODS: After IRB approval and informed consent, 50 MO patients undergoing laparoscopic gastric bypass under volume-controlled ventilation (tidal volume 6 ml kg(-1) of IBW) were randomly ventilated with either 10 cm H2O PEEP or with 10 cm H2O PEEP and one RM carried out after induction of pneumoperitoneum, and another after exsufflation. Anaesthesia and analgesia were standardized. Spirometry was assessed before operation and 24 h after surgery. Postoperative oxygenation and the apnoea-hypopnoea index (AHI) were recorded during the first postoperative night. RESULTS: Age, BMI, and STOP BANG score were similar in both groups. FRC decrease after surgery was minimal [0.15 (0.14) litre in control and 0.38 (0.19) litre in the RM group] and similar between the groups (P=0.35). FVC, FEV1, mean [Formula: see text], percentage of time spent with [Formula: see text] below 90%, and AHI did not differ significantly between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that when added to a protective mechanical ventilation combining low tidal volume and high PEEP, two RMs do not improve postoperative lung function including FRC, arterial oxygenation, and the incidence of obstructive apnoea in MO patients after laparoscopic upper abdominal surgery. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: EudraCT 2011-000999-33.

[Upper airway's 3D analysis of patients with obstructive sleep apnea using tomographic cone beam]. / Analyse tridimensionnelle de la voie aérienne supérieure des patients atteints d'un syndrome d'apnées et d'hypopnées obstructives du sommeil par la technique du Cone Beam.

The progress of medical imaging over the last decades has led to a better understanding of the upper airway structure in sleep-disordered patients. The Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSA) is attributed to a functional narrowing of the upper airway, particularly of the oropharynx, during sleep. This narrowing is multifactorial. We have shown that in 60% cases, the maxilla (nasal pyramid) seems too narrow. A mandible retroposition may also play a dominant role in 30% of the cases. Both scenarios can be combined. Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) is a new medical imaging technique that permits to visualize the upper airway with less ionizing radiation than the conventional scanner. To date, only five authors have performed an upper airway's 3D analysis of sleep apnea patients with cone beam. A better understanding of the affected segment of the upper airway should help refine treatment options.

[Narcolepsy-cataplexy today]. / La narcolepsie-cataplexie aujourd'hui.

Diagnostic criteria and pathophysiology of narcolepsy-cataplexy have evolved considerably over the last 10 years. The main cause, already mentioned in a previous paper, in the Revue Médicale de Liège (65), in 2002, is based, in human beings, on a destruction of specific cells located in the lateral and posterior part of the hypothalamus (the perifornical nuclei, containing some 70,000 neurons), producing peptides which stimulate the central nervous system; they are called hypocretins or orexins. The role of autoimmunity in their disappearance becomes more evident. The treatment is simplified, but remains symptomatic. It is mainly based on Sodium Oxybate or Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate, syrup, prescribed for the night. The authors report on their own experience in this regard and on future therapeutics more targeted towards the cause of the disease.

[Dream in the land of paradoxical sleep]. / Les rêves au pays du sommeil paradoxal.

Paradoxical sleep (PS or REM sleep) is traditionally a matter for neurophysiology, a science of the brain. Dream is associated with neuropsychology and sciences of the mind. The relationships between sleep and dream are better understood in the light of new methodologies in both domains, particularly those of basic neurosciences which elucidate the mechanisms underlying SP and functional imaging techniques. Data from these approaches are placed here in the perspective of rather old clinical observations in human cerebral lesions and in the phylogeny of vertebrates, in order to support a theory of dream. Dreams may be seen as a living marker of a cognitivo-emotional process, called here "eidictic process", involving posterior brain and limbic structures, keeping up during wakefulness, but subjected, at that time, to the leading role of a cognitivo-rational process, called here "thought process". The last one is of instrumental origin in human beings. It involves prefrontal cortices (executive tasks) and frontal/parietal cortices (attention) in the brain. Some clinical implications of the theory are illustrated.

[Bright light therapy]. / Photothérapie en lumière vive.

Bright light therapy is a treatment that emerged in the eighties of the last century. It can be used in different pathologies such as seasonal affective disorders, major depressions, and many disorders of the wake-sleep rhythm, whether they are of primary or secondary origin. Important progress made at the basic neuroscience levels, allows today a sound understanding of the bright light mode of action. Moreover, the main indications are now the subject of consensus reports and meta-analyses which show good levels of evidence-based medicine. Bright light therapy constitutes a first choice indication in seasonal affective disorder. It is also perfectly possible to prescribe bright light therapy in the major depression disorders. It has been demonstrated that the effect size is the same as with antidepressants of reference. It is admitted nowadays that bright light therapy may be at least, an adjunct to pharmacotherapy, in order to accelerate the antidepressant effect onset, or to prolong this effect after withdrawal of the drug. Bright light therapy can also be viewed as an alternative to the pharmacological approach especially when this one is impossible, not tolerated or not accepted by the patient. The contraindications are rare.

[Therapeutic armamentarium in neurology: the birth of a new era]. / L'arsenal thérapeutique en neurologie: une nouvelle ère voit le jour.

The field of neurology was long infamous for a lack of therapeutic options. How many of you have once thought: "Neurologists don't cure the disease, they admire it". But those days have passed into history, and the field is now vibrant with new treatments and hope even for patients with the worst neurodegenerative diseases. We summarized in the present review the latest major advances in therapeutic principles and practice for some of the most frequent chronic neurological disorders such as headaches, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, dementias, Parkinson's disease, sleep/wake disturbances and peripheral neuropathies. We cannot cure or prevent, but we can now halt or control symptoms and disease progression to provide physical and psychological relief, and a better quality of life for patients who suffer from these otherwise devastating neurological conditions.

Pre-Operative Ability of Clinical Scores to Predict Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) Severity in Susceptible Surgical Patients.

BACKGROUND: Severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is an independent risk factor for perioperative complications. Clinical scores such as Snoring, Tiredness, Observed apnea, high blood Pressure, Body Mass Index (BMI) higher than 35 kg m-2, Age older than 50 years, Neck circumference larger than 40 cm, and male gender (STOP-Bang), perioperative sleep apnea prediction (P-SAP), and OSA50 have been proposed for detecting OSA. We recently proposed a new score based on morphological metrics only, the DES-OSA score. This study compared the DES-OSA score to the three other ones with regard to their ability to detect OSA. Obese patients are particularly at risk of OSA. METHODS: Following informed consent and institutional review board (IRB) approval, 1584 consecutive adults were. Should the STOP-Bang be indicative of increased risk of severe OSA, the patient was referred to complementary polysomnography (PSG). Eventual already existing recent PSG data were also collected. The abilities of the four scores to predict OSA severity were compared using sensitivity, specificity, Cohen's kappa coefficient (CKC), and area under ROC curve (AUROC) analysis. RESULTS: PSG was performed in 150 patients. For detecting severe OSA, OSA50 had the highest sensitivity [value (95 % CI) 0.98 (0.90-1)]. STOP-Bang was significantly less sensitive than P-SAP and OSA50. In that respect, DES-OSA was significantly more specific than the three other ones [0.75 (0.65-0.83)]. The AUROC of DES-OSA was significantly the largest [0.9 (0.84-0.95)]. The highest CKC at detecting severe OSA was 0.62 (0.49-0.74) for DES-OSA. Similar results were obtained for moderate to severe OSA prediction. CONCLUSIONS: DES-OSA, which is the only exclusively morphological score available, appears to surpass the three other scores in their ability to predict moderate to severe and severe OSA, at least in our setting and in our screened population. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrial.gov NCT02051829.

[The general practitioner and insomnia]. / Le médecin généraliste face a une plainte d'insomnie.

A complaint of insomnia has to be analysed, and differentiated from hypochondria and, overall, from hypersomnia. Once confirmed and assessed as acute or chronic, it is often considered a disorder of hyperarousal, that is an imbalance between a central nervous system activating and a central nervous system inhibiting system with subcontinuous overflow from the former. An acute insomnia is less than one month of duration. As a disease, insomnia has to be categorized as a secondary or a primary disorder. Thereafter, it remains to assess the extent of social, psychological and economical interactions. These factors intervene as consequences or perpetuating factors. The capacity to assess the whole situation is really the great strength of the general practitioner who, more than anybody else, is on home ground. Laboratory findings and specialist examination come only as supporting evidence for causal links. A polysomnography realized in a sleep disorder center provides data reinforcing or correcting the diagnosis. From a sound assessment of the disease, the treatment has to be deduced by following a rigorous reasoning, devoid of guilty feelings as they are suggested to patients by mass-media talking, as well as freed from fashionable non medical practices. Today, we know that chronic insomnia is a disease with potential severe consequences and that it does not heal spontaneously.

Influence of premedication with alprazolam on the occurence of obstructive apneas. A prospective randomized double-blind study.

Postoperative development or worsening of obstructive sleep apnea is a potential complication of anesthesia. The objective of this study was to study the effects of a premedication with alprazolam on the occurrence of apneas during the immediate postoperative period. Fifty ASA 1 - 2 patients undergoing a colonoscopy were recruited. Patients with a history of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) were excluded. Recruited patients were randomly assigned to one of two groups: in Group A, they received 0.5 mg of alprazolam orally one hour before the procedure; and in Group C, they received placebo. Anesthesia technique was identical in both groups. Patients were monitored during the first two postoperative hours to establish their AHI (apnea hypopnea index, the number of apneas and hypopneas per hour). Nine patients were excluded (4 in group A and 5 in group C) due to technical problems or refusal. Interestingly, premedication by alprazolam did not change intra-operative propofol requirements. During the first two postoperative hours, the AHI was significantly higher in group A than in group C (Group A: 20.33 ± 10.97 h-1, C: 9.63 ± 4.67 h-1). These apneas did not induce significant arterial oxygen desaturation, or mandibular instability. Our study demonstrates that a premedication with 0.5 mg of alprazolam doesn't modify intra-operative anesthetic requirements during colonoscopy, but is associated with a higher rate of obstructive apneas during at least three and a half hours after ingestion. No severe side effects were observed in our non-obese population. Our results must be confirmed on a larger scale.

Preoperative adherence to continuous positive airway pressure among obstructive sleep apnea patients.

BACKGROUND: Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) increases the perioperative risk of complications. Chronic use of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) by patients decreases the importance of comorbidities caused by the OSA. However, many patients do not adhere to the treatment. Given the postoperative complications, it is important for the anesthesiologist to identify non-adherent patients. This prospective study was designed to identify factors that would predict patient adherence. METHODS: Ninety patients who were treated by CPAP for more than one year were recruited. Among them, and based on objective criteria such as length of use of CPAP during the night, 75 were considered as being adherent to CPAP, while the other 15 were not. Sixty-two potential causes of non-adherence were investigated (some have not been tested before), and further divided into five categories. Those categories included cultural, intellectual, or economic factors, OSA comorbidities, patient belief about health, ENT-related problems, and pathophysiological features estimating the degree of improvement afforded by CPAP introduction. RESULTS: Multivariate binary logistic regression analysis identified one criterion of non-adherence to treatment, namely the feeling of breathlessness, and three criteria of adherence, namely awareness of the risk of complications, awareness of treatment efficacy, and feeling of being less tired with CPAP therapy. CONCLUSIONS: These four new criteria should preoperatively be sought, in order to detect non-adherent patients more efficiently.

Cerebral glucose utilization during stage 2 sleep in man.

Using [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose method and positron emission tomography, we performed paired determinations of the cerebral glucose utilization at one week intervals during sleep and wakefulness, in 12 young normal subjects. During 6 of 28 sleep runs, a stable stage 2 SWS was observed that fulfilled the steady-state conditions of the model. The cerebral glucose utilization during stage 2 SWS was lower than during wakefulness, but the variation did not significantly differ from zero (mean variation: -11.5 +/- 25.57%, P = 0.28). The analysis of 89 regions of interest showed that glucose metabolism differed significantly from that observed at wake in 6 brain regions, among them both thalamic nuclei. We conclude that the brain energy metabolism is not homogeneous throughout all the stages of non-REMS but decreases from stage 2 SWS to deep SWS; we suggest that a low thalamic glucose metabolism is a metabolic feature common to both stage 2 and deep SWS, reflecting the inhibitory processes observed in the thalamus during these stages of sleep. Stage 2 SWS might protect the stability of sleep by insulating the subject from the environment and might be a prerequisite to the full development of other phases of sleep, especially deep SWS.

Cerebral glucose utilization during sleep-wake cycle in man determined by positron emission tomography and [18F]2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose method.

Using the [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose method and positron emission tomography, we studied cerebral glucose utilization during sleep and wakefulness in 11 young normal subjects. Each of them was studied at least thrice: during wakefulness, slow wave sleep (SWS) and rapid eye movement sleep (REMS), at 1 week intervals. Four stage 3-4 SWS and 4 REMS fulfilled the steady state conditions of the model. The control population consisted of 9 normal age-matched subjects studied twice during wakefulness at, at least, 1 week intervals. Under these conditions, the average difference between the first and the second cerebral glucose metabolic rates (CMRGlu was: -7.91 +/- 15.46%, which does not differ significantly from zero (P = 0.13). During SWS, a significant decrease in CMRGlu was observed as compared to wakefulness (mean difference: -43.80 +/- 14.10%, P less than 0.01). All brain regions were equally affected but thalamic nuclei had significantly lower glucose utilization than the average cortex. During REMS, the CMRGlu were as high as during wakefulness (mean difference: 4.30 +/- 7.40%, P = 0.35). The metabolic pattern during REMS appeared more heterogeneous than at wake. An activation of left temporal and occipital areas is suggested. It is hypothetized that energy requirements for maintaining membrane polarity are reduced during SWS because of a decreased rate of synaptic events. During REMS, cerebral glucose utilization is similar to that of wakefulness, presumably because of reactivated neurotransmission and increased need for ion gradients maintenance.

Concurrent use of REM latency, dexamethasone suppression, clonidine, and apomorphine tests as biological markers of endogenous depression: a pilot study.

In a sample of 12 major depressive inpatients, endogenous subtype (8 primary and 4 secondary) defined by Research Diagnostic Criteria, we compared the sensitivity of four potential biological markers: latency of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep (recorded during at least 4 consecutive nights), dexamethasone suppression, and the clonidine and apomorphine tests. Shortened REM latency (less than 50 minutes during at least 1 night) identified 67% of depressives (87% of primary and 25% of secondary); nonsuppression after dexamethasone identified 50% of depressives (62% of primary and 25% of secondary); blunted growth hormone (GH) response after clonidine identified 75% of depressives (100% of primary and 25% of secondary); and blunted GH response after apomorphine identified 42% of depressives (62% of primary and 0% of secondary). Ninety-two percent of patients were correctly identified by at least one biological marker (100% of primary and 75% of secondary depressives). Of 67% of patients positive on at least two biological markers, all were primary depressives (100%). These four biological markers do not necessarily identify the same population, suggesting that their concurrent use may yield the highest level of diagnostic sensitivity.

Decreased amount of slow wave sleep in nocturnal bruxism is not improved by dental splint therapy.

OBJECTIVE: To test the efficacy of dental treatment of bruxism on sleep quality, using slow wave sleep as the primary outcome parameter. METHODS: The study design consisted of an open label, unpaired comparison between normals and patients and a paired comparison between pre- and post-treatment patient recordings. Twenty patients suffering from bruxism (13 male, 7 female, mean age 35 years) and 6 normal volunteers (3 male, 3 female, mean age 30 years) participated in the study. Polysomnographic recordings were performed in a sleep laboratory in a general hospital both before and after treatment. The treatment was derived from a model that ascribes bruxism to a dental malocclusion, and consisted solely of dental therapy (Jeanmonood 1988). RESULTS: The untreated bruxism group had worse sleep than normals when comparing slow wave sleep (21% versus 32% slow wave sleep percentage in sleep period time) during the second polysomnographic recording, after one night adaptation. Therapy did not improve sleep quality; bruxism patients showed only minor, non-significant differences in sleep quality when comparing pre- and post-treatment recordings.

[Photoperiod phototherapy and wakefulness-sleep rhythm disorders]. / Photothérapie photopériodique et troubles du rythme veille-sommeil.

Bright light therapy is a recent physical treatment in chronodisabled situations. The most recognized indication is the seasonal affective disorder. However, any disease or dysfunction where a misalignment of sleep-wake and circadian rhythms may be suspected is a potential tool for this treatment. Analyses of the literature throughout the interpretation methods of the evidence based medicine indicate that bright light therapy, if not a standard, could be recommended in a number of circadian rhythm sleep disorders, mainly the delayed and advanced sleep phase syndromes. Time aspects are essential for the success of phototherapy. From this point of view, easy and practical technological means or methods, allowing to shape a Phase Response Curve in each individual to be treated, should be clear progress. A future extension of indications will also depend on the checking of essential hypotheses linking circadian and sleep-wake rhythms in diseases such as psychophysiological insomnia, multiple sclerosis, brain dysgeneses or dementias. At last, a non negligible advantage of bright light therapy appears to be its relative safety.

[Seasonal affective syndrome and phototherapy: theoretical concepts and clinical applications]. / Syndrome affectif saisonnier et photothérapie: concepts théoriques et applications cliniques.

Since 1984, there has been a great interest in the phenomenon of a particular seasonally recurrent mood disorder called seasonal affective disorder (SAD) or winter depression and its treatment: the phototherapy. Seasonal affective disorder is a syndrome described by Rosenthal in 1984. This mood disorder is characterized by depression with onset recurrent in autumn or winter and spontaneous spring or summer remission. It is associated with hypersomnia, anergia, increased appetite, weight gain and carbohydrate craving. The population prevalence in the north of the USA is estimated between 3 and 5%, but it changes with sex, age and also latitude. A long time ago, we know that animals are photoperiod sensitive and that the melatonin secretion in mammals is suppressed by the light. In 1980, Czeiler reported for the first time that human melatonin secretion can be suppressed by high light exposure (+/- 1500 lux). In 1982, Rosenthal, Lewy and al. reported an antidepressant effect of light exposure of a manic-depressive patient. The phototherapy was born. To treat the SAD, the most common procedure of phototherapy is to expose the subject during 2 hours early in the morning, between 06:00 and 09:00 AM. The subject is sitting before a light screen, he can work and has to fix the screen one time every minute. The most common side effects are headache, eyestrain, muscle pain. The ocular phototoxicity is controversed and it seems to be potentially dangerous if phototherapy is associated with tricyclic antidepressants, neuroleptics and other medication containing a tricyclic, heterocyclic or porphyrin ring system. Since this finding, many questions are asked about photoperiod and its effects in the human being. Lewy proposes for the winter depression the hypothesis of a phase delayed circadian rhythm, that can be treated by a morning light exposure. At the present time, many trials are going on to study the effects of phototherapy in other problems like insomnia, maladaptation to night work, jet lag and Alzheimer disease.

[Narcolepsy-cataplexy]. / La narcolepsie-cataplexie.

The diagnosis of narcolepsy-cataplexy is based on three axes: 1) the medical history is strongly suggestive when diurnal sleep attacks (narcolepsy) and drop attacks (cataplexy) are reported or observed; 2) the polysomnography is mandatory and shows nocturnal and diurnal (multiple sleep latency test) REM sleep onsets; 3) HLA typing, practically helps to exclude the diagnosis when HLA DR15-DQB1*0602 is not present. New pathogenetic hypotheses have been proposed, mostly based the absence of hypocretin in narcoleptic cerebrospinal fluid. This neurotransmitter was previously known exclusively by its involvement in alimentary behaviours. The new therapies remain symptomatic, but they are powerful to prevent somnolence, daytime sleepiness, cataplexy and insomnia associated with this syndrome.

[The sleep obstructive apnea and hypopnea syndromes]. / Le syndrome des apnées et hypopnées obstructives du sommeil.

Since two decades, sleep breathing disorders are more wisely recognized by the Belgian medical community. Among these, the Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSA) is the best known but its frontiers with others syndromes such as the Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome (UARS), the Central Sleep Apnea Syndrome (CSAS) or the Overlap Syndrome are still matter of discussion. Its causes are plurifactorial, and many recent publications draw the attention to its long term effects in the cardiovascular and neuropsychiatric fields. This article summarizes the present definitions and features associated with OSA, from clinical and neurophysiological perspectives, and the different consequences to which untreated or underdiagnosed patients are exposed.

Acromegaly and sleep apnea: cephalometric evaluations.

Lateral teleradiography is a standard and quick examination. It has enabled us to define differences as regards to the craniofacial morphology between 20 acromegalic patients and 20 control subjects. The height of the mandibular ramus (from the posterior condyle point to the gonion point) increases significantly with the acromegalic patient and the cranial base angle (basion-superior tuberculum sellae-M point) is more extended. As acromegalic patients are more subject to sleep apnea (30% prevailing), the relationship between the amount of sleep apnea and hypopnea (AHI) in an acromegalic patient and his bone, tissue and hormone factors has been researched, in order to act on the causes of sleep apnea. It has emerged that confronting craniofacial bones and soft tissues factors enables a good prediction of the apnea and hypopnea index. Of course, we can find again the potential action of growth hormone (GH) but only in fifth place in importance order. The tongue, which increases in volume with the GH impact, is in a too short "lingual enclosure" (reduced length of the mandibular horizontal branch).