Sleep related rhythmic movement disorder revisited.

To classify sleep related rhythmic movement disorder (SRMD) based on clinical, polysomnographic and videometric evaluation in a predominantly adult population, twenty-four patients (four females) aged 11-67 years identified by polysomnography and videometry were classified for type of SRMD, its duration and frequency during wakefulness and in the different sleep stages. SRMD persisted unto child- and adulthood in all patients. SRMD is not restricted to sleep-wake transition, occurs most frequently in wake, stages NREM 1 and 2, but also in REM and slow wave sleep.

Rapid onset of action of levodopa in restless legs syndrome: a double-blind, randomized, multicenter, crossover trial.

Objective: To investigate the efficacy and safety of levodopa plus benserazide in the treatment of restless legs syndrome (RLS), in terms of the frequency of periodic limb movements (PLMs), objective and subjective criteria of sleep, onset of action, and withdrawal effects.

Design: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter, crossover trial, with two 4-week treatment periods.

Setting: Outpatient units of three specialist centers in Germany.

[Characteristics of sleep in abstinent alcoholics. A comparison of alcohol- and age-induced reduction of deep sleep].

Polygraphic sleep recordings were performed in 12 sober alcoholic patients, 8 young normals and 12 healthy elderly subjects. An automatic sleep analysis including two different methods (standard and adaptive) of SWS scoring was used. The standard method is based on amplitude dependent rules according to Rechtschaffen and Kales.

[A psychophysiological analysis of the cognitive tempo by means of evoked potentials].

A new approach to measure the speed of cognitive behaviour is introduced. The decomposition of reaction time allows to identify different stages: perception, comparison steps and motoric organization. For this reason the additive factor method and the analysis of event-related potentials is used.