Changes in pharyngeal anatomy and apnea/hypopnea index after a mandibular advancement device.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic effcacy of custom-made mandibular advancement devices (MAD) in the control of primary snoring and sleep apnea and to correlate with anatomical changes identified through imaging tests.

Methods: Patients (n = 17) diagnosed with sleep apnea or primary snoring were included in this study and subsequently treated with MADs. Changes were assessed using a polysomnographic study (PSG), the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and an imaging study with computed tomography scanning (CT).

Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia helps to reverse cognitive impairment in insomnia patients.

Introduction: Insomnia is the most common of sleep disorders, it induces a wide variety of organic symptoms, including somatic and cognitive impairments. There are pharmacological drugs nowadays that help diminish sleep impairments due to insomnia. However, most of them seem to be worsening cognitive impairments, benzodiazepine receptor agonists, in particular, seem to induce an even worst deterioration of cognitive function.

Further Evidence of the Melatonin Calmodulin Interaction: Effect on CaMKII Activity.

Melatonin (MEL) is a pleiotropic indolamine that reaches multiple intracellular targets. Among these, MEL binds to calmodulin (CaM) with high affinity. In presence of Ca, CaM binds to CaM-dependent kinase II (CaMKII).

Metabolic Disturbances Induced by Sleep Restriction as Potential Triggers for Alzheimer's Disease.

Sleep has a major role in learning, memory consolidation, and metabolic function. Although it is known that sleep restriction increases the accumulation of amyloid β peptide (Aβ) and the risk to develop Alzheimer's disease (AD), the mechanism behind these effects remains unknown. In this review, we discuss how chronic sleep restriction induces metabolic and cognitive impairments that could result in the development of AD in late life.

Sleep and Mental Health Disturbances Due to Social Isolation during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Mexico.

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) that broke out in China in December 2019 rapidly became a worldwide pandemic. In Mexico, the conditions requiring the declaration of a sanitary emergency were reached by the last week of March 2020, and health authorities' limited mobility and imposed social isolation were the main strategies to keep the virus from spreading. Thus, daily living conditions changed drastically in a few days, generating a stressful situation characterized by an almost complete lack of mobility, social isolation, and forced full-time interactions with family members.

Chronic sleep loss disrupts blood-testis and blood-epididymis barriers, and reduces male fertility.

Sleep loss increases blood-brain barrier permeability. As the blood-brain barrier and the blood-tissue barriers in the reproductive tract (blood-testis and blood-epididymis barriers) share common characteristics, we hypothesized that sleep restriction may also modify their barrier function. Previous reports showed that sleep loss decreased sperm viability and progressive fast mobility, which may be a consequence of altered blood-testis and blood-epididymis barrier.

Postnatal overnutrition alters the orexigenic effects of melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) and reduces MCHR1 hypothalamic expression on spontaneous feeding and fasting.

One of the approaches to induce obesity in rodents consists in reducing litter size to 3 pups during the lactation period. Animals submitted to this manipulation are heavier, hyperphagic and develop several metabolic diseases for the rest of their lives. In the present study, under the premise that melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH), an orexigenic peptide synthesized by neurons of the lateral hypothalamus, is involved in food intake regulation, we aimed to measure the hypothalamic expression of its receptor, MCHR1, in adult early overfed obese animals and normoweight controls at both ad libitum and food deprived conditions.

Cyclic alternating pattern in infants with congenital hypothyroidism.

Congenital hypothyroidism is defined as thyroid hormone deficiency present at birth which is crucial for brain development. Recently, the cyclic alternating pattern, a rhythm present in electroencephalography recordings in non-Rapid eye movement sleep, has been related to brain development and cognition in different pediatric conditions. Therefore, we evaluated the cyclic alternating pattern rate in infants with congenital hypothyroidism, thyroxine supplementation, and healthy controls.

Innate immunity modulation in the duodenal mucosa induced by REM sleep deprivation during infection with Trichinella spirallis.

Sleep is considered to be an important predictor of the immunity, since the absence of sleep can affect the development of the immune response, and consequently increase the susceptibility to contract an infection. The aim of the present study was to investigate if sleep deprivation and stress induce dysregulation of the duodenal mucous membrane during the acute infection with Trichinella spiralis. Our results shows that, in the intestinal mucous membrane, stress and sleep deprivation, produces different effect in the cells, and this effect depends on the studied duodenal compartment, glands or villi.

A2A Adenosine Receptor Antagonism Reverts the Blood-Brain Barrier Dysfunction Induced by Sleep Restriction.

Chronic sleep restriction induces blood-brain barrier disruption and increases pro-inflammatory mediators in rodents. Those inflammatory mediators may modulate the blood-brain barrier and constitute a link between sleep loss and blood-brain barrier physiology. We propose that adenosine action on its A2A receptor may be modulating the blood-brain barrier dynamics in sleep-restricted rats.

Update of sleep alterations in depression.

Sleep disturbances in depression are up to 70%. Patients frequently have difficulty in falling asleep, frequent awakenings during the night and non-restorative sleep. Sleep abnormalities in depression are mainly characterized by increased rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and reduced slow wave sleep.

The Bidirectional Relationship between Sleep and Immunity against Infections.

Sleep is considered an important modulator of the immune response. Thus, a lack of sleep can weaken immunity, increasing organism susceptibility to infection. For instance, shorter sleep durations are associated with a rise in suffering from the common cold.

Sleep deprivation induces changes in immunity in Trichinella spiralis-infected rats.

Sleep is considered an important predictor of immunity. A lack of sleep may reduce immunity, which increases susceptibility to any type of infection. Moreover, sleep deprivation in humans produces changes in both, the percent of circulating immune cells (T cells and NK cells) and cytokine levels (IL-1, IFNγ, TNΦ-αα, IL-6 and IL-17).

Social and Cultural Elements Associated with Neurocognitive Dysfunctions in Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 2 Patients.

Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 2 (SCA2) is a rare genetic disorder producing cerebellar degeneration and affecting motor abilities. Neuroimaging studies also show neurodegeneration in subcortical and cortical regions related to emotional and social processes. From social neuroscience, it is suggested that motor and social abilities can be influenced by particular cultural dynamics so, culture is fundamental to understand the effect of brain-related alterations.

Reduced systemic levels of IL-10 are associated with the severity of obstructive sleep apnea and insulin resistance in morbidly obese humans.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been related to elevation of inflammatory cytokines and development of insulin resistance in morbidly obese (MO) subjects. However, it is still unclear whether the systemic concentration of anti-inflammatory mediators is also affected in MO subjects directly related to the severity of OSA and level of insulin resistance. Normal weight and MO subjects were subjected to overnight polysomnography in order to establish the severity of OSA, according to the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI).

Sleep in the spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi): A semi-restrictive, non-invasive, polysomnographic study.

The normal sleep patterns of the spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi) have not been described yet. The objective of this study was to characterize the electrophysiological patterns, sleeping postures, and sleep-wake cycle in semi-restricted spider monkeys. Continuous 24-hr polysomnographic (PSG) recordings, involving simultaneous recording of non-invasive electroencephalographic (EEG), electro-oculographic (EOG), and electromyographic (EMG) activities, were carried out in captive monkeys living in outdoor rainforest enclosures.

Further definition on the multiple partner choice arena: a potential animal model for the study of premature ejaculation.

Introduction: The multiple partner choice arena (MPCA) is an experimental setup in which male rats display a significant shortening of ejaculation latency, which is the main characteristic of premature ejaculation (PE) in men. Thus, the MPCA is a potential animal model for PE.

Aim: In this study, we further analyze whether the features of the MPCA satisfy the validity criteria for it to be considered an animal model as well as the possible participation of the serotoninergic system in the faster ejaculation exhibited by male rats in the MPCA.

GABAA receptor agonist at the caudo-lateral peribrachial area suppresses ponto-geniculo-occipital waves and its related states.

Purpose: In order to explore the potential role of GABA, acetylcholine and glutamate in the caudo-lateral peribrachial area (C-PBL) over Rapid-Eye-Movement sleep (REM) onset and maintenance as well as on synchronized sleep with ponto-geniculo-occipital (PGO) waves (SP) in cats, a muscimol, carbachol and L-glutamate local application was performed and behavioral states were assessed.

Methods: Fourteen chronically implanted, adult, male cats underwent a 23 hour polysomnographic recording after 3 pharmacological manipulations: carbachol, muscimol and L-glutamate. Each cat received all three drugs randomly with a seven day interval.

D1-like antagonist blocks conditioned place preference induced by ejaculation in male rats.

Mating behavior, particularly ejaculation, induces a state of sexual reward, which is evaluated by the conditioned place preference test. Several studies have shown that opioid receptors are involved in inducing the state of sexual reward, mainly because this state is blocked with naloxone, a mu opioid receptor antagonist. Dopamine has been implicated in sexual motivation, coital behavior and sexual reward, however, some experiments show that D2-like or non-specific dopaminergic antagonists are not capable of blocking the conditioned place preference induced by ejaculation; therefore, the role of dopamine on sexual reward has not been demonstrated, or has been frequently discarded.

Sleep loss as a factor to induce cellular and molecular inflammatory variations.

A reduction in the amount of time spent sleeping occurs chronically in modern society. Clinical and experimental studies in humans and animal models have shown that immune function is impaired when sleep loss is experienced. Sleep loss exerts a strong regulatory influence on peripheral levels of inflammatory mediators of the immune response.

REM sleep loss and recovery regulates blood-brain barrier function.

The functions of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep have remained elusive since more than 50 years. Previous reports have identified several independent processes affected by the loss and subsequent recovery of REM sleep (hippocampal neurogenesis, brain stem neuronal cell death, and neurotransmitter content in several brain regions); however, a common underlying mechanism has not been found. We propose that altered brain homeostasis secondary to blood-brain barrier breakdown may explain all those changes induced by REM sleep loss.

Role of sleep in the regulation of the immune system and the pituitary hormones.

Sleep is characterized by a reduced response to external stimuli and a particular form of electroencephalographic (EEG) activity. Sleep is divided into two stages: REM sleep, characterized by muscle atonia, rapid eye movements, and EEG activity similar to wakefulness, and non-REM sleep, characterized by slow EEG activity. Around 80% of total sleep time is non-REM.