Publications by authors named "Alan L Eckeli"

 The absence of standardized reporting for sleep medicine exams across different laboratories can lead to misinterpretation, diagnostic inconsistencies, and suboptimal treatment strategies. This document seeks to establish guidelines for the development of sleep study reports, covering recordings from studies of types 1 to 4, and represents the official position of Associação Brasileira do Sono (ABS; Brazilian Sleep Association) on the standardization of polysomnography (PSG) and cardiorespiratory polygraphies.  The recommendations for the items to be reported in PSG records were developed by means of a Delphi study, comprised of two voting rounds.

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Purpose: Recent evidences pointed out that the prevalence of comorbidity of restless legs syndrome/Willis-Ekbom disease (RLS/WED) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is around 20%. Nonetheless its association factors have not been extensively evaluated after the recent modification in diagnostic criteria. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of RLS/WED and its association factors with OSA in an adult sample.

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Background: The neuromuscular activity has a critical role in the permeability of the upper airways.

Objective: The present study aimed to conduct a detailed and comparative investigation of the orofacial musculature and motor skills of children with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Materials And Methods: Children aged 7 to 12 years with OSA (OSA group, n = 12) and without OSA (Control group, n = 12) were compared.

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Study Objectives: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is highly prevalent, and positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy is the primary treatment. This study aimed to assess the diagnostic and PAP treatment resources for OSA within Brazil's Unified Health System and to identify potential inequalities and gaps.

Methods: A structured survey was sent to members of the Brazilian Sleep Association and the Brazilian Association of Sleep Medicine to identify sleep laboratories providing OSA diagnosis and/or treatment within Brazil's Unified Health System.

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REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) is characterized by a loss of atonia of skeletal muscles during REM sleep, associated with acting out behaviors during dreams. Knowledge of this pathology is important to predict neurodegenerative diseases since there is a strong association of RBD with diseases caused by the deposition of alpha-synuclein in neurons (synucleinopathies), such as Parkinson's disease (PD), multiple system atrophy (MSA), and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Proper diagnosis of this condition will enable the use of future neuroprotective strategies before motor and cognitive symptoms.

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Objectives: This study aimed to conduct a cost-utility analysis of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy compared with usual care as treatment of moderate to severe cases of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in Brazil, where decentralized policies of CPAP provision are in place.

Methods: Markov cohort model comparing CPAP therapy with usual care, that is, no specific treatment for OSA, for moderate to severe cases was used. The payer perspective from the Unified Health System, Brazil, was adopted.

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Objective: To describe the prevalence of insufficient sleep duration, long sleep latency, terminal or maintenance insomnia, subjective sleep quality, and excessive daytime sleepiness among participants of birth cohorts conducted in three Brazilian cities, and to evaluate differences in prevalence rates within cohorts according to sociodemographic characteristics.

Methods: Cross-sectional analyses involving adolescents and adults participating in four birth cohorts conducted in Ribeirão Preto (RP78 and RP94), Pelotas (PEL93) and São Luís (SL97/98). Sleep duration, latency, terminal or maintenance insomnia, and subjective sleep quality were obtained through the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index; and excessive daytime sleepiness was assessed using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale.

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Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is one of the most common sleep disorders and affects nearly a billion people worldwide. Furthermore, it is estimated that many patients with OSA are underdiagnosed, which contributes to the development of comorbidities, such as cardiac autonomic imbalance, leading to high cardiac risk. Heart rate variability (HRV) is a non-invasive, widely used approach to evaluating neural control of the heart.

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Objective: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a highly prevalent chronic disease, associated with morbidity and mortality. Although effective treatment for OSA is commercially available, their provision is not guaranteed by lines of care throughout Brazil, making legal action necessary. This study aimed at presenting data related to the volume of legal proceedings regarding the access to diagnosis and treatment of OSA in Brazil.

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Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3/Machado-Joseph disease (SCA3/MJD) is the most common SCA worldwide and comprises about 70% of SCA patients in Brazil. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences have been used to describe microstructural abnormalities in many neurodegenerative diseases and helped to reveal the excessive iron accumulation in many of these conditions. This study aimed to characterize brain changes in gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM), detected by voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and relaxometry in patients with SCA3/MJD.

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Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of the main nonpsychoactive components of and may represent an alternative treatment for Restless Legs Syndrome/Willis-Ekbom Disease (RLS/WED) in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep behavior disorder (RBD). Our purpose was a exploratory analysis to evaluate the CBD's efficacy to improve the severity of RLS/WED symptoms in patients with PD and RBD. A exploratory analysis of a phase II/III, a parallel, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted in 18 patients with RLS/WED and PD plus RBD associated.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study aimed to explore how sleep quality relates to personal and work-related factors among hospital nurses, using a survey method to gather data from 42 participants.
  • - Results indicate that 64.3% of nurses reported poor sleep quality, with additional concerns in rotating shift workers and those aged 30-39, highlighting significant health impacts among this group.
  • - The findings suggest a need for monitoring and preventive strategies to improve sleep quality and overall health for nurses, especially those working in challenging conditions like shift work.
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Introduction: The brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and neural growth factor (NGF) are widely expressed in the brain and play an important role in neuroplasticity, neurogenesis, and increased neuronal connections. Previous studies have shown that reduced serum levels of these proteins are associated with disorders in human sleep.

Objective: Current study evaluates the prevalence in adolescents of excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) and sleep quality, and analyzes the influence of these factors on BDNF and NGF serum levels.

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Purpose: Drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) has been poorly explored as an examination to assess positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The present study aimed to identify by DISE possible characteristics related to low compliance with PAP therapy due to respiratory complaints.

Methods: Patients using PAP for OSA underwent DISE in two conditions: (1) baseline (without PAP) and (2) PAP (with the same mask and airway pressure used at home).

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Purpose: To synthesize findings of economic evaluations investigating cost-effectiveness of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and of strategies of organization of care related to CPAP therapy.

Methods: Scoping review with searches conducted in MEDLINE, CRD, LILACS, and Embase in August 2020. Eligible studies were economic evaluations comparing CPAP to other alternative or assessing strategies of care for CPAP therapy.

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Background: REM sleep behaviour disorder (RBD) is a common non-motor feature of Parkinson's disease (PD). Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of the main non-psychoactive components of Cannabis sativa and may represent an alternative route for treating RBD.

Objective: This study assessed the efficacy and safety of CBD for RBD in PD.

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Article Synopsis
  • Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a common issue in Parkinson's disease, leading to poor quality of life and excessive daytime sleepiness.
  • A study with 88 Parkinson's patients found that 25 individuals had RLS, highlighting connections to loss of smell, sleep quality, and overall life quality.
  • Women with RLS also showed higher rates of insomnia, constipation, and anosmia compared to those without RLS, indicating specific risk factors within this group.
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Introduction: A diagnosis of rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD) currently requires confirmation with polysomnography (PSG). However, PSG may not be sufficiently available. In these situations, a clinical diagnostic measure might be useful.

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There is evidence of a higher prevalence of restless legs syndrome/Willis-Ekbom disease (RLS/WED) in individuals with spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3), although the factors underlying this association remain unknown. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of RLS/WED in SCA3 patients and to investigate which factors of SCA3 patients are associated with presence of RLS/WED. From February to August of 2006, we carried out clinical interviews in 40 controls and 40 SCA3 patients, diagnosed and followed up at Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo.

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Background: Restless Legs Syndrome, a potentially disabling sleep disorder, also known as Willis-Ekbom disease (RLS/WED), may be caused by loss of inhibitory modulation of descending central motor pathways, structural changes in the somatosensory cortex, abnormal connectivity between motor and sensory areas, as well as by subtle abnormalities in white matter micro-organization.

Objective: To compare diffusion-tensor imaging (DTI) metrics in areas associated with sensory or motor function, as well as sensorimotor integration, between subjects with primary mild-to-severe RLS/WED and controls.

Methods: DTI metrics were assessed in 38 subjects with RLS/WED (14 mild to moderate, 24 severe to very severe) and 24 healthy age-matched controls with whole-brain Tract Based Spatial Statistics (TBSS), Region-of-interest (ROI) and probabilistic tractography based analyses.

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Objectives: To estimate the prevalence and factors associated with excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) in adolescents from the São Luís, Maranhão birth cohort.

Method: Cross-sectional study conducted with 2,514 adolescents aged 18 and 19 years old. A hierarchical approach was used, and prevalence ratios were calculated using Poisson regression with robust variance adjustment.

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Purpose: The present study evaluated the upper airway pattern of obstruction in individuals undergoing drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) exam with positive airway pressure (PAP), and compared this effect through a nasal or oronasal mask.

Methods: Prospective study. Patients requiring PAP due to obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) were evaluated through DISE at three different moments: (1) a baseline condition (without PAP); (2) PAP treatment with a nasal mask; and (3) PAP with an oronasal mask at the same pressure.

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Background and Purpose- Sleep apnea has been associated with a poor outcome in acute stroke patients. Polysomnography is the gold standard diagnostic method for sleep apnea, but it is not feasible as a routine in the acute stroke setting. The current generation of positive airway pressure (PAP) devices can detect the different types of respiratory events.

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Article Synopsis
  • Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) affects up to 66% of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients, a rate significantly higher than in the general population, but the exact relationship between the two is still debated.
  • A study involving 88 PD patients found that those with OSA were typically older and experienced less insomnia, but exhibited worse sleep quality as indicated by polysomnography results, specifically showing lower N3 sleep percentage and higher oxygen desaturation.
  • The study concluded that while OSA is prevalent in PD patients, sleeping in a supine position seems to have a significant role in its occurrence, and certain typical risk factors for OSA in the general population may not apply as strongly to PD patients.
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Background: Decreased short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI) to transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the primary motor cortex was described in subjects with restless legs syndrome/Willis-Ekbom disease (RLS/WED). It remained to be determined whether the magnitude of SICI decrease would be similar across levels of RLS/WED severity. Moreover, it was unknown whether, in addition to decreases in SICI, changes in cortical thickness or area could be detected in subjects with RLS/WED compared to controls.

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