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Biomedical subjects

P A Fredrickson

Publications and source records attributed to P A Fredrickson.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

Sleep and breathing in patients with the Prader-Willi syndrome.

The Prader-Willi syndrome is characterized by infantile hypotonia, early childhood obesity, mental deficiency, short stature, small hands and feet, and hypogonadism. Many patients also have hypersomnolence, experience daytime hypoventilation, and subsequently die prematurely of cardiorespiratory failure. Hypersomnolence and daytime hypoventilation are also common occurrences in the sleep apnea syndrome. For a better understanding of the relationship of sleep to the features of the Prader-Willi syndrome, we retrospectively reviewed five patients (two adults, one adolescent, and two children) with this syndrome who underwent polysomnography. All patients were obese; they had hypersomnolence and daytime hypoxemia, and they nored. In all patients, the apnea plus hypopnea index was less than 10 episodes per hour of sleep. During rapid eye movement sleep, nonapneic reductions in oxyhemoglobin saturation were detected in one adult and in one child. Despite the presence of morbid obesity and a history of snoring, patients with Prader-Willi syndrome seem to have only mild sleep-disordered breathing.

Academic Medical Centers

Sleep disorders in psychiatric practice.

Sleep disorders medicine and psychiatry interface in numerous ways. Most psychiatric patients have a complaint about sleep, and regardless of the theoretical orientation of a psychiatrist, understanding of a patient's sleep function is an important part of assessment. The success or failure of treatment will be strongly influenced by the effect of that treatment on the patient's sleep disorder. The psychiatrist can provide expertise in treating patients with primary sleep disorders, offering pharmacologic consultations, and recommending psychotherapy or behavioral management. Conversely, a knowledge of primary sleep disorders should make the psychiatrist a more effective practitioner.

Humans

Narcolepsy update.

Narcolepsy, a disorder of excessive daytime sleepiness that affects more than 125,000 people in the United States, is technically defined as a daytime mean sleep latency (time elapsed before falling asleep) of less than 5 minutes in conjunction with verification of rapid eye movement sleep in at least two of five daytime nap periods. Cataplexy, hypnagogic hallucinations, and sleep paralysis are frequently associated with narcolepsy. Currently, overnight polysomnography and multiple sleep latency testing in a sleep disorders laboratory are used to diagnose narcolepsy. Standard pharmacologic therapy consists of the judicious use of stimulants to improve alertness and the administration of tricyclic and other antidepressant drugs to suppress cataplexy. In addition, good sleep hygiene (a regular sleep-wake schedule, an adequate amount of sleep at night, and scheduled daytime naps) is essential for optimal management of this disorder. Patient and family education about narcolepsy and its treatment is also important. Even with use of the best available treatment regimens, many patients with narcolepsy have substantial vocational and social impairments.

Animals

Hallucinogens antagonize histamine H1 receptors of cultured mouse neuroblastoma cells.

Hallucinogens were competitive antagonists of histamine at the H1-receptor of cultured mouse neuroblastoma cells. Their rank order of potency at this receptor was similar to that for their potency at eliciting subjective effects in vivo. Comparison with studies of other receptors, however, suggests that no single model of drug--receptor interaction adequately accounts for the known subjective effects of these compounds.

Animals