[Study of the relation between disorders of nocturnal respiratory rhythm and hypersomnia]. / Etude de la relation entre troubles du rythme respiratoire nocturne et hypersomnie.

Sleep and respiration were recorded during two consecutive nights in 15 normal subjects, 18 patients suffering from narcolepsy and 9 with non-cataplectic hypersomnia. The normal subjects showed episodes of central apnea, the degree of which increased with age and periodic respiration. In both categories of hypersomniacs, the patients were divided into three groups according to the severity of disturbances in nocturnal respiratory rhythm:--group 1: identical to the normal subjects,--group 2: moderate qualitative or quantitative abnormalities,--group 3: presence of a large number of episodes of obstructive apnea. On the basis of these results, it was concluded that disturbances in nocturnal respiratory rhythm are not specific for any particular type of hypersomnia, nor were they the main cause of hypersomnia when present to a large extent, but that obstructive apnea could be an aggravating factor.

[Preliminary study of the comparative action of 1 methyl-2 (2 naphtyl) aziridine on kindling effect and on paradoxical sleep (author's transl)]. / Etude préliminaire de l'action comparée sur l'effet d'embrasement et sur le sommeil paradoxal du 1 méthyl-2 (2 naphtyl)-aziridine (MNA).

Methyl-2 (2 Naphtyl) Aziridine (MNA) is a new agent which has been demonstrated to have effects on paradoxical sleep (PS) and on the levels of cerebral noradrenaline (Yamamoto, 1975). It has been tried on a experimental model of epilepsy, the kindling effect, produced in the cat by repetitive stimulation of the amygdala. The results obtained in the cat confirmed blockage of paradoxical sleep (PS) and revealed a marked reduction in the number of stimuli required to produce the effect. The shortening of the time before the first generalised seizure did not seem attributable to privation of paradoxical sleep. The role of cerebral catecholamine reduction, however, is discussed.

A study on sleep in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

A polygraphic study of sleep has been performed on 12 patients with ALS and 12 normal controls. Neither the total duration of sleep, nor the proportion of different stages of sleep differed significantly between the patient and control groups. A variety of morphologic peculiarities were observed in certain patients: frequent and repetitive blinking movements during the waking state (under quiet, dark conditions); persistence of EMG activity during both PS and SWS; and an early appearance of marked slow delta wave activity at the beginning of sleep. We observed in patients increased PS latency, and longer and more frequent awakenings. Certain patients also showed both qualitative and quantitative abnormalities of respiratory rhythm. A longitudinal study was performed on one patient. Results are discussed in relation to the existing literature.

[Polygraphic study of nocturnal sleep in three degenerative diseases: ALS, oligo-ponto-cerebellar atrophy, and progressive supranuclear palsy]. / Polygraphic study of nocturnal sleep in three degenerative diseases: ALS, oligo-ponto-cerebellar atrophy, and progressive supranuclear palsy.

A polygraphic study of nocturnal sleep was carried out on 12 patients suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), 6 patients suffering from olivio-ponto-cerebellare-atrophia (OPCA) and 9 patients suffering from the Steele-Richardson disease (SR). A disturbance of sleep--if it exists--always runs parallel with the course of the disease. No disturbances were registered in the group of patients suffering from ALS, in the OPCA group a specific disease of paradoxal sleep is observed. The sleep disturbances are more global in the group of patients suffering from the SR disease. A particular electrooculogram was taken from the patients from the awakening and from the paradoxal sleep. Respiratory difficulties were registered on certain patients of each of the three groups. These sleep disturbances, registered by the polygraph, were compared with those observed on patients presenting a cortical disease.

[Suppression of paradoxal sleep by clonidine in man]. / Suppression du sommeil paradoxal par la clonidine chez l'Homme

The administration of clonidine (300 mug) suppresses REM sleep or strikingly diminishes its duration in Man. The statistical difference with placebo given in a double blind trial is highly significant. This suppression of REM sleep may depend on the stimulation of alpha-adrenergic receptors.

Effect of clonidine on sleep patterns in man.

Clonidine (300 microgram orally) increased in man the total duration of sleep and strikingly reduced the duration of REM sleep. Yohimbine (10 mg per os) did not alter the sleep patterns in man but antagonized the effects of clonidine. These results provide evidence that an alpha sympathomimetic mechanism could suppress REM sleep and increased the total duration of sleep.

Clinical and polygraphic effects of d.1 5 HTP on narcolepsy-cataplexy.

d.1 5 hydroxy-trytophan (600 mg a day) or a placebo were administered during 4 weeks following a double blind cross over design to 11 narcoleptic-cataplectic patients. Daily number of cataplectic and narcoleptic attacks did not vary. The 36 hours polygraphic recordings performed at the end of each treatment exhibit: a trend toward a decrease of the duration of the day time sleep and a significant increase of the duration of the night sleep.

Sleep respiratory arrhythmias in control subjects, narcoleptics and non-cataplectic hypersomniacs.

Normal subjects may present central-type apneas or periodic respiration during sleep (stages I and II and paradoxical sleep). The importance of these respiratory disorders increases with age. Hypersomniac patients can manifest either similar or more significant sleep respiratory disorders than normal subjects. The presence of cataplexy or obesity does not permit the prediction of the existence of respiratory arrhythmias or of their type. Sleep respiratory arrhythmias of central type are not likely to cause hypersomnia; however, an aggravating role may be played by obstructive apneas.