Publications by authors named "Jens Acker"

Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the frequency of psychiatric disorders in patients with narcolepsy type-1 (NT1) and other central disorders of hypersomnolence (OCH), finding that 38 out of 90 patients (27% of NT1 and 48% of OCH) had at least one psychiatric issue.
  • Major depressive episodes and suicidality were the most common psychiatric conditions observed, with a notable prevalence among females.
  • Those with psychiatric comorbidities experienced more severe fatigue, apathy, disturbed sleep, and poorer overall quality of life, indicating a negative impact on their daily functioning due to the combination of these disorders and hypersomnolence symptoms.
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Article Synopsis
  • The Swiss Primary Hypersomnolence and Narcolepsy Cohort Study (SPHYNCS) aims to discover new biomarkers for central disorders of hypersomnolence, particularly focusing on narcolepsy type 1 (NT1) and its distinction from healthy controls.
  • Researchers used Fitbit smartwatches to gather data on physical activity, heart rate, and sleep over a year, achieving an impressive adherence rate of 80% among participants.
  • Findings revealed that NT1 patients showed increased sleep fragmentation and specific changes in sleep and heart rate metrics compared to healthy controls, indicating the potential for wearable technology to assist in the diagnosis and management of narcolepsy in the future.
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Abstract: Sleep quality and duration as well as activity-rest-cycles at individual level are crucial for maintaining physical and mental health. Although several methods do exist to monitor these parameters, optimal approaches are still under consideration and technological development. Wrist actigraphy is a non-invasive electro-physical method validated in the field of chronobiology to record movements and to allow for monitoring human activity-rest-cycles.

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Narcolepsy type 1 (NT1) is a disorder with well-established markers and a suspected autoimmune aetiology. Conversely, the narcoleptic borderland (NBL) disorders, including narcolepsy type 2, idiopathic hypersomnia, insufficient sleep syndrome and hypersomnia associated with a psychiatric disorder, lack well-defined markers and remain controversial in terms of aetiology, diagnosis and management. The Swiss Primary Hypersomnolence and Narcolepsy Cohort Study (SPHYNCS) is a comprehensive multicentre cohort study, which will investigate the clinical picture, pathophysiology and long-term course of NT1 and the NBL.

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Chronic tinnitus causes a decrease in well-being and can negatively affect sleep quality. It has further been indicated that there are clinically relevant gender differences, which may also have an impact on sleep quality. By conducting a retrospective and explorative data analysis for differences in patients with tinnitus and patients diagnosed with tinnitus and insomnia, hypothesized differences were explored in the summed test scores and on item-level of the validated psychometric instruments.

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Difficulties in falling asleep and maintaining sleep, nonrestorative sleep and decreased daytime wakefulness represent very common but relatively unspecific health complaints. Around 100 specific sleep-related disorders will be classified in their own major chap. 7 (sleep wake disorders) for the first time in the upcoming 11th version of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD 11).

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Sleep Disturbances in General Practitioners' Offices: From Screening to Initial Therapy - Update 2019 Abstract. The field of sleep medicine has established internationally as an interdisciplinary specialization. Due to prevailing evidence, sleep disturbances are listed in a separate chapter in the new ICD 11 classification system.

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It has been estimated that up to 80% of people will experience symptoms of tinnitus over the courses of their lives, with rates of comorbid sleeping problems ranging from 50 to 77%. Because of a potential connection between tinnitus and sleep disorders as well as high rates of comorbid psychiatric disorders, interdisciplinary approaches to treatment seem to be the most efficient option. In this study, we present the case of a 53-year-old male patient, who started to experience symptoms of tinnitus at the age of 49, most likely caused by work-related stress.

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Background: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of clinical depression as defined by ICD-10 criteria in all patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) referred to a sleep center.

Methods: Prospective general and sleep evaluations were conducted in 447 consecutive patients referred to our sleep center during the first quarter of 2008. Inclusion criteria were Apnea Hypopnea Index (AHI) > 9, completion of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) with a score ≥14 and World Health Organization WHO-5 Well-Being Index (WHO-5) ≤ 13.

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Background: Excessive fatigue and insomnia are common among shift workers and can lead to negative effects such as reduced work performance, processing errors, accidents at work, absenteeism, reduced quality of life, and symptoms of depression. Moreover, work in rotating shifts can be a risk factor for different somatic and psychiatric diseases and may contribute to poor health, especially in elder adults and women. This review aims to show non-pharmacological preventive measures against fatigue and insomnia in shift workers.

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The functioning of the human body is regulated by the rhythmical change between rest and activity. The SCN (suprachiasmatic nucleus) is responsible for the central control of the biorhythm and the genetic prediction of the individual chronotype, whereas peripheral time cues such as light, social contacts and times of meals modulate the rhythmical activity of the body. Shift workers suffer from a disruption of the sleep-wake rhythm, insomnia and a lack of melatonin.

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Workplace health promotion is a strategy to improve the health and well-being of people at work. The measures aim at the personal, organisational and work environment. Shift work is one of many reasons provoking increased job stress.

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Based upon their in vitro receptor binding profiles, the atypical antipsychotics clozapine and olanzapine exhibit cholinergic receptor binding of similar potency. Data comparing the in vivo anticholinergic effects, however, of these neuroleptics upon neurocardiac control are sparse. The goal of this study was to compare the in vivo effects of clozapine and olanzapine upon neurocardiac control by assessment of the pulse rate variability (PRV) in schizophrenic patients and healthy controls.

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