Biomedical subjects

Maria Laura Nogueira Pires

Publications and source records attributed to Maria Laura Nogueira Pires.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

[Excessive daytime sleepiness].

Sleepiness is a physiological function, and can be defined as increased propension to fall asleep. However, excessive sleepiness (ES) or hypersomnia refer to an abnormal increase in the probability to fall asleep, to take involuntary naps, or to have sleep atacks, when sleep is not desired. The main causes of excessive sleepiness is chronic sleep deprivation, sleep apnea syndrome, narcolepsy, movement disorders during sleep, circadian sleep disorders, use of drugs and medications, or idiopathic hypersomnia. Social, familial, work, and cognitive impairment are among the consequences of hypersomnia. Moreover, it has also been reported increased risk of accidents. The treatment of excessive sleepiness includes treating the primary cause, whenever identified. Sleep hygiene for sleep deprivation, positive pressure (CPAP) for sleep apnea, dopaminergic agents and exercises for sleep-related movement disorders, phototherapy and/or melatonin for circadian disorders, and use of stimulants are the treatment modalities of first choice.

Disorders of Excessive Somnolence↗

PubMed2004

Sleep and sleepiness among Brazilian shift-working bus drivers.

The aim of this study was to evaluate daytime and nighttime sleep, as well as daytime and nighttime sleepiness of professional shift-working bus drivers. Thirty-two licensed bus drivers were assessed by nocturnal and diurnal polysomnography (PSG) recording and multiple sleep latency testing (MSLT) sessions. Sleep length was shorter and sleep efficiency reduced during daytime sleep compared with nighttime sleep. Thirty-eight percent of the drivers had indices of obstructive apnea and hypopnea syndrome (>5/h sleep) during nighttime and daytime sleep; more drivers snored during daytime than nighttime sleep (50% vs. 35%, p < 0.05), and 38% of the drivers evidenced periodic leg movements. The MSLT revealed that 42 and 38% of the bus drivers met the criteria for sleepiness when the test was conducted during the day and night, respectively. The daytime as compared to nighttime sleep of shift-working bus drivers was shorter and more fragmented and was associated in many with evidence of excessive sleepiness. Respiratory disorder was a common finding among the professional shift-working bus drivers. All these sleep deficiencies may adversely affect on the job driving performance.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Sleep parameters among offshore workers: an initial assessment in the Campos Basin, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.

Shift work has potentially adverse effects on health, particularly on sleep. The purpose of the present study was to assess sleep parameters among personnel working in oil and gas offshore installations in the Campos Basin, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. One hundred and seventy-nine subjects were asked to complete a sleep questionnaire with multiple-choice answers. Offshore workers were divided into two groups according to their work schedule: (1) fixed daytime workers (n = 86; age: 35.8+/-9.6 yrs) and (2) shift (n = 87) or night (n = 6) workers (total n = 93; age: 37.7+/-9.7 yrs). Shift/night workers reported poor sleep more frequently than the daytime workers (20.4% vs. 1.2%, p < 0.01), as well as habitual difficulty in falling asleep (15.1% vs. 4.7%, p<0.01), long latency of sleep onset (28% vs. 7%, p<0.01), fragmented sleep (45.2% vs. 16.3%, p<0.01), short sleep episodes (44.1% vs. 16.3%, p < 0.01), irregular bedtimes (29.0% vs. 12.8%, p < 0.01), and feeling tired upon awakening (15.1% vs. 3.5%, p < 0.01). Habitual napping and loud snoring were reported twice as often in shift/night than in day workers (p < 0.01). Nightmares, somnambulism, and unpleasant feeling in the legs were equality reported by both groups (p > 0.05). Few offshore workers had sought medical help for their sleep problems. A higher number of shift/night workers reported feelings of sadness compared with day workers (26.9% vs. 9.3%, p < 0.01). The findings of this study show that subjective reports of sleep-related problems are quite common among Brazilian offshore shift workers. Reliance on self-reported sleep problems and a cross-sectional design are the main limitations of our study.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Further validation of actigraphy for sleep studies.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Actigraphy is generally compared to polysomnography (PSG), which has been considered the gold standard for sleep studies. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the concordance between PSG and two previously proposed algorithms (Cole et al, 1992; Sadeh et al, 1994) to analyze actigraphic recordings. The minute-by-minute agreement rate was evaluated through calculation of sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy. Regarding the sleep parameters, the concordance was performed through the Bland and Altman technique. DESIGN: A night of adaptation to the sleep laboratory followed by simultaneous polysomnographic and actigraphic recordings throughout the night. PARTICIPANTS: 21 healthy volunteers. SETTING: A sleep laboratory INTERVENTIONS: None. RESULTS: Ninety-one percent of all PSG epochs were correctly identified by both algorithms, and this accuracy is reasonably satisfactory. The actigraphy was a sensitive method, with values of 99% and 97% for Cole's and Sadeh's algorithms, respectively. However, actigraphy had a low specificity: 34% and 44% for Cole's and Sadeh's algorithms, respectively. The Bland and Altman technique showed that actigraphy systematically overestimated Sleep Latency, Total Sleep Time and Sleep Efficiency while it underestimated Intermittent Awakenings. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study show the utility of actigraphy as a useful method for assessment of sleep, despite its limitations regarding identification of waking epochs during sleep. The Bland and Altman concordance technique was revealed to be a powerful tool to evaluate how well actigraphy agreed with polysomnography. This technique, combined with calculations of sensitivity and specificity, appears to be the most adequate procedure for the assessment of concordance.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2000

Involvement of the opioid system in the development and expression of sensitization to the locomotor-activating effect of ethanol.

Previous studies have shown that pretreatment with naloxone (Nlx), an opiate antagonist, attenuates the stimulating effect of ethanol. The purpose of the present study was to determine the influence of Nlx on the development and expression of the sensitization to ethanol. Initially, effects of different doses of Nlx on the response to a low dose of ethanol (2.0 g/kg) were assessed. Nlx (1.0 and 3.0 mg/kg i.p.) decreased the stimulating effect of ethanol. Groups of mice were treated with saline or Nlx (1.0 mg/kg i.p.) plus saline or ethanol (2.0 g/kg i.p.) during 21 d. On day 25 of treatment all animals received an ethanol challenge (2.0 g/kg i.p.). It significantly increased the locomotor activity of mice that had received chronic ethanol (2.0 g/kg) once daily as compared to those that had received saline. Chronic administration of Nlx (1.0 mg/kg i.p.), during the same period of time, did not change the locomotor activity of the mice. However, the group concomitantly treated with Nlx+ethanol did not develop sensitization to the locomotor-activating effect of ethanol. Another experiment was carried out to determine the effects of Nlx on the expression of sensitization to ethanol. Acute pretreatment with Nlx did not change the response of the mice that had developed sensitization to ethanol. These data show Nlx's prevention of the development of ethanol-induced sensitization but not of its expression, suggesting an important role of the opioid neurotransmitter systems modulating the development of sensitization to the locomotor-activating effect of ethanol.

Journal Article↗