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Biomedical subjects

H Moldofsky

Publications and source records attributed to H Moldofsky.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Sleep and morning pain in primary osteoarthritis.

Sleep physiology, pain and mood symptoms of 8 patients with idiopathic osteoarthritis of the hands who complained of morning symptoms were compared to 7 age and sex matched subjects with similar joint pathology, but who did not complain of morning symptoms. The "AM Symptoms" group had sleep related (nocturnal) myoclonus, associated with increased morning peripheral joint tenderness and decreased grip strength, whereas the "No Complaint" group had improved mood in the morning.

Affect↗

Sleep and musculoskeletal pain.

Chronic musculoskeletal pain and fatigue of "fibrositis syndrome" are associated with a physiologic arousal disorder within sleep, the alpha (7.5 to 11 Hz) electroencephalographic, non-rapid-eye-movement sleep anomaly. In this nonrestorative sleep disorder, pain and mood symptoms may be mediated by psychologic distress (e.g., following a nonphysically injurious industrial or automobile accident), noxious environmental stimuli (e.g., noise), physiologic disturbance (e.g., sleep-related myoclonus, painful inflamed joints, i.e., rheumatoid arthritis), and altered central nervous system metabolism (e.g., disordered brain serotoninergic functions). Because such heterogeneous agents influence this hitherto poorly understood nonarticular rheumatic syndrome, the descriptive term "rheumatic pain modulation disorder" is suggested.

Alpha Rhythm↗

Evoked potential maps in learning disabled children.

Some childhood learning disabilities are associated with altered synchrony patterns of brain evoked potentials. Scalp recorded electrical synchrony between selected brain regions was measured in response to visual, auditory and somatosensory stimuli and compared between a group of learning disabled children and a group of normal children. Statistically significant inter-group differences revealed stimulus dependent greater inter-regional EP synchrony in the learning disabled group. These findings support the notion that some childhood learning disabilities reflect, in part, altered connections between selected brain regions.

Brain Mapping↗

Role of diffuse airway obstruction in the hypercapnia of obstructive sleep apnea.

The mechanisms responsible for the development of chronic hypercapnia in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are not well defined. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that diffuse airway obstruction may be involved by studying 50 patients with a well-documented OSA syndrome. Seven patients had daytime hypercapnia with a mean PaCO2 of 51 +/- 2 (SEM) mm Hg, compared to a PaCO2 of 35 +/- 1 in the other 43 patients. There were no differences between the 2 groups in the number or duration of nocturnal obstructive events. In contrast, the hypercapnic patients were significantly heavier than the normocapnic patients (body weight, 189 +/- 11 versus 148 +/- 6% of ideal; p less than 0.005) and had evidence of diffuse airway obstruction, as indicated by an increased residual volume and a reduction in all expiratory flow rates. When the hypercapnic patients were compared with a weight-matched group of 9 normocapnic patients (body weight, 196 +/- 8% of ideal), there were still no differences in nocturnal obstructive events, but the differences in tests of airway mechanics persisted. Multiple regression analysis of PaCO2 against several anthropometric, respiratory physiologic, and polysomnographic variables revealed that only 2 variables (expiratory reserve volume and FEV1/FVC), both of which are influenced by airway mechanics, were significantly correlated with PaCO2 (multiple r = 0.78; p = 0.0001). The findings suggest that OSA alone does not produce daytime hypercapnia even in obese patients, and that the presence of diffuse airway obstruction is an important predisposing factor to the development of chronic CO2 retention in such patients.

Adult↗

Dysthymic disorder and rheumatic pain modulation disorder (fibrositis syndrome): a comparison of symptoms and sleep physiology.

It has been suggested that "fibrositis" or rheumatic pain modulation disorder (RPMD) is a variant of depressive illness. Both disorders are associated with abnormalities in sleep physiology. Since the clinical features of RPMD do not meet all the criteria for a major depressive disorder, the symptoms and sleep physiology in subjects with dysthmic disorder (DSM III criteria) (N = 6), and RMPD (N = 6) were compared, in order to determine the similarity between the two groups. The sleep physiology in dysthymic disorder was first examined over three consecutive nights since a systematic evaluation of the sleep physiology in this group of disorders has not yet been reported. All dysthymic patients showed episodic bursts of high-amplitude (75-150 microvolts) theta (3-5 Hz) bursts in stage 2 sleep, and REM onset latency was abbreviated only on night 2. The theta bursts have not been previously reported, and may be an early marker of disorganization of non-REM sleep in the dysthymic subjects. The comparison of the two groups revealed that RPMD subjects reported more pre- and post-sleep pain (p less than 0.01), lighter sleep (p less than 0.01), and more physical ailments during sleep (p less than 0.01), and had more alpha (7-11.5 Hz) in non-REM sleep (p less than 0.01).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

Sleep related myoclonus in rheumatic pain modulation disorder (fibrositis syndrome).

Thirty-three patients with rheumatic pain modulation disorder (RPMD) were divided into 2 groups: RPMD with sleep related myoclonus (RPMD-SM) (n = 12) and RPMD only (n = 21). Both groups showed chronic nonarticular musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, tender points, and nonrestorative sleep with alpha (7.5-11 Hz) EEG sleep anomaly. RPMD-SM patients were older, had later onset of illness, showed disrupted sleep with periodic involuntary leg movements that were related to fatigue, and alpha EEG sleep related to fatigue and pain.

Adult↗

Genetic dependence of the electroencephalogram bispectrum.

The resting electroencephalogram of monozygotic twins and genetically unrelated controls was analyzed with the ordinary spectrum and with the bispectrum. Both the ordinary spectrum which measures linear EEG wave activity and the bispectrum which detects non-linear and correlated frequency activity had evidence for a genetic basis. It is suggested that there is a genetic basis for the process of EEG generation.

Brain↗

Periodic movements in sleep and sleep-wake complaint.

Periodic movements during sleep (PMS) are frequent, involuntary movements, usually of the lower extremities, that disrupt sleep. Twelve patients (nine men and three women, mean age 53.9 years) with a complaint of persistent insomnia (DIMS) were compared with 11 patients (eight men and three women, mean age 53.0 years) complaining of excessive daytime sleepiness (DOES). DIMS patients had more PMS (both absolute and relative), a longer delay to sleep onset and to REM onset, more wakefulness after sleep onset, and less total sleep time. Although the fragmentation of physiological sleep was more severe in the DIMS patients, those individuals with DOES reported cognitive intrusions during their sleep. While DOES patients may be regarded as "sleeping through" the brief arousals associated with leg activity during sleep, there appears to be sufficient cognitive awareness of the nocturnal interruption to precipitate a complaint of daytime sleepiness. Insomnia patients, however, appear to experience longer and more frequent awakenings, which are proportional to increased fragmentation of sleep.

Electromyography↗

Physiological determinants of nocturnal arterial oxygenation in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

Among patients with similar degrees of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) there is considerable variability in the degree of associated nocturnal hypoxemia. The factors responsible for this variability have not been clearly defined. Therefore we studied 44 patients with OSA to identify the physiological determinants of nocturnal arterial O2 saturation (SaO2). All patients underwent pulmonary function testing, arterial blood gas analysis, and overnight polysomnography. Mean nocturnal SaO2 ranged from 96 to 66% and apnea-hypopnea index from 11 to 128 per hour of sleep. Several anthropometric, respiratory physiological, and polysomnographic variables that could be expected to influence nocturnal SaO2 were entered into a stepwise multiple linear regression analysis, with mean nocturnal SaO2 as the dependent variable. Three variables [awake supine arterial PO2 (PaO2), expiratory reserve volume, and percentage of sleep time spent in apnea] were found to correlate strongly with mean nocturnal SaO2 (multiple R, 0.854; P less than 0.0001) and accounted for 73% of its variability among patients. Body weight, other lung volumes, and airflow rates influenced awake PaO2 and expiratory reserve volume but had no independent influence on nocturnal SaO2. In a further group of 15 patients with OSA a high correlation was obtained between measured nocturnal SaO2 and that predicted by the model (r = 0.87; P less than 0.001). We conclude that derangements of pulmonary mechanics and awake PaO2 (generally attributable to obesity and diffuse airway obstruction) are of major importance in establishing the severity of nocturnal hypoxemia in patients with OSA.

Adult↗

Role of daytime hypoxemia in the pathogenesis of right heart failure in the obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.

Although right heart failure is a recognized complication of obstructive sleep apnea, the incidence and pathogenesis of this complication have not been established. We therefore studied 50 consecutive patients with obstructive sleep apnea to determine the incidence of right heart failure and the factors involved in its development. Six patients (12%) were found to have right heart failure. There were no differences in the number of apneas between those with right heart failure (mean +/- SE, 30 +/- 10 per h sleep) and those without right heart failure (33 +/- 4 per h sleep). In contrast, mean nocturnal oxygen saturation was lower in patients with right heart failure (76 +/- 3%) than in those without right heart failure (90 +/- 1%; p less than 0.001). Furthermore, patients with right heart failure also had a substantially lower awake arterial PO2 (52 +/- 4 mmHg versus 75 +/- 2 mmHg; p less than 0.001) and a higher PCO2 (51 +/- 2 mmHg versus 36 +/- 1 mmHg; p less than 0.001) than those without right heart failure. Severe nocturnal hypoxemia in the absence of diurnal hypoxemia was not associated with right heart failure. Daytime hypoxemia in the patients with right heart failure was associated with a higher residual volume (p less than 0.001) and lower forced expiratory volume in one second (p less than 0.001) than in the patients without right heart failure. The findings suggest that sustained hypoxemia and/or hypercapnia over a 24-h period is a necessary prerequisite for the development of right heart failure in patients with obstructive sleep apnea, and that diffuse airway obstruction plays a major role in causing such hypoxemia.

Circadian Rhythm↗

Lecithin in the treatment of Gilles de la Tourette's syndrome.

Five patients with Tourette's syndrome were administered a mean dose of 512 mg/kg per day of oral lecithin. None of the patients exhibited sustained clinical improvement in symptom severity. No significant changes in serum prolactin or growth hormone were observed during lecithin administration.

Administration, Oral↗

Alpha EEG sleep and morning symptoms in rheumatoid arthritis.

We studied the influence of disturbed sleep physiology on morning symptoms in 15 patients with classical rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who were experiencing an acute flare. All were found to have an alpha frequency (7 to 11.5 Hz) EEG sleep anomaly, an overnight increase in tenderness in their peripheral joints and in "fibrositic" regions, as well as increased weakness and diminished energy. One patient experienced remission in symptoms and improvement in sleep physiology. The morning symptoms may relate to a nonrestorative sleep disorder associated with the alpha EEG sleep anomaly.

Adult↗