Early experience with the new DORA daridorexant in patients with insomnia disorder and comorbid mental disturbances: Results of a naturalistic study with 3 months follow-up.

Insomnia disorder may affect mental health, increasing suicidal risk. Targeting insomnia is crucial in the clinical practice. Sixty-six consecutive patients with insomnia disorder according with the DSM-5-TR criteria were treated with the dual orexin receptor antagonist, daridorexant 50 mg. Baseline (T0), 1 month (T1) and 3 month (T2) evaluations were performed. Insomnia severity (Insomnia Severity Index), mood, anxiety symptoms and suicidal risk (Beck Depression Inventory-II, Young Mania Rating Scale, Self-Reported Anxiety Scale, Suicidal Ideation Scale), dysfunctional insomnia-cognitive factors and pre-sleep arousal (Dysfunctional Beliefs About Sleep, Pre-Sleep Arousal Scale) were evaluated. The final sample included 66 patients (n = 36, 54% females, mean age 60 ± 13.6 years). Most of them, 64%, suffered from insomnia disorder comorbid with unipolar/bipolar depression, anxiety disorders and substance use disorders. Repeated ANOVA analyses showed that Insomnia Severity Index, Dysfunctional Beliefs About Sleep and Pre-Sleep Arousal Scale total score decreased across time (F = 68.818, p < 0.001; F = 47.561, p < 0.001; F = 28.142, p < 0.001, respectively). Similarly, Beck Depression Inventory-II, Self-Reported Anxiety Scale, Young Mania Rating Scale, and Suicidal Ideation Scale significantly decreased over time (p < 0.001). Predictors of insomnia remission (Insomnia Severity Index < 8) at T1 were improvement of Insomnia Severity Index at T1 (F = 60.205, p < 0.001), and improvement of Dysfunctional Beliefs About Sleep at T1 (F = 4.432, p = 0.041). Insomnia remission at T2 was best predicted by improvement of Dysfunctional Beliefs About Sleep at T2 (F = 3.993, p = 0.023). Multiple-regression models showed that clinical improvement of Beck Depression Inventory-II was best predicted by improvement in Dysfunctional Beliefs About Sleep at T1 and T2, manic symptoms by Insomnia Severity Index at T2, anxiety symptoms by Dysfunctional Beliefs About Sleep, Insomnia Severity Index and somatic Pre-Sleep Arousal Scale at T1 and T2. With the caution of a naturalistic design, early experience with daridorexant showed that by targeting insomnia it may be possible to improve not only insomnia symptoms but also comorbid symptoms.

Eating habits and sleep quality in individuals with type 1 diabetes on continuous glucose monitoring and insulin pump.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Sleep disorders are bidirectionally linked with eating behaviors and glucose metabolism, which could be clinically relevant in type 1 diabetes (T1D). We investigated the relationship between dietary habits and sleep quality in individuals with T1D on insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). METHODS AND RESULTS: In a cross-sectional study, dietary habits (7-day food diary, EPIC questionnaire) and sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index questionnaire) were assessed in 59 men and 58 women with T1D, aged 19-79 years, using CGM and insulin pump. Differences in dietary habits and blood glucose after dinner (6 h) between participants differing in sleep quality, sleep duration, and sleep onset latency were evaluated. Bad Sleepers (n = 81) were twice as prevalent as Good Sleepers (n = 36) and had a significantly higher intake of fat than Good Sleepers (dinner: 30.7 ± 10.7 vs. 24.0 ± 10.5 g, p = 0.004). Short sleepers had a significantly higher usual intake (g/1000 kcal) of coffee and tea (90.4 ± 71.7 vs. 62.0 ± 35.6), alcoholic (47.8 ± 51.1 vs. 28.9 ± 31.5) and carbonated beverages (21.8 ± 38.1 vs. 9.3 ± 17.2) (p < 0.05 for all) than Long Sleepers. Long Sleep Onset Latency was associated with a significantly higher fat intake at dinner (41.8 ± 7.4 vs. 38.1 ± 9.1 % total energy, p = 0.029) than Short Sleep Onset Latency. No significant differences in post-dinner blood glucose levels were detected between participants with good or bad sleep quality. CONCLUSION: Sleep disruption is common in T1D and is associated with unhealthy dietary choices, especially at dinner, independently of post-dinner blood glucose control.

The Wicked Relationship between Depression and Metabolic Syndrome.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) constitutes a challenge in the field of mental disorders, given its high prevalence in the general population and its impact on the quality of life, while representing a major burden of health worldwide. Currently, much interest in the pathophysiology of MMD ìs also directed towards disentangling the possible biological mechanisms shared with that medical condition known as metabolic syndrome (MeS) that is frequent in the general population and often comorbid with MDD. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to summarize the evidence on the relationships between depression and MeS, and to comment on the common factors and mediators present in these two conditions. For this reason, some of the main databases of scientific literature were accessed, and all the papers fulfilling the goal of this review were selected. The results demonstrated the existence of common pathways between depression and metabolic syndrome involving several mediators, such as inflammation, the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis, oxidative stress, platelet functions, coronary heart disease and peripheral hormones, thus requiring strict attention from the scientific community. Indeed, such pathways may be targeted in the near future in order to pave the way to new treatment options for these disorders.