Endogenous melatonin predicts efficacy of exogenous melatonin in consolidation of fragmented wrist-activity rhythm of adult patients with developmental brain disorders: a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study.

Objective: : We studied whether the endogenous melatonin patterns in adult patients with developmental brain disorders have any role in response to exogenous melatonin given as a sleep-promoting medicine.

Methods: : Participants included 15 adults (18-60 years, five females) with developmental brain disorders of varying etiologies, motor handicaps, and long-term history of sleep problems. According to the 24-h patterns of serum melatonin, patients were divided into two subgroups: lower and higher secretors.

Sleep disturbances in aspartylglucosaminuria (AGU): a questionnaire study.

Sleep disturbances are common in many progressive metabolic encephalopathies. The possible presence of disturbed sleep-wake behaviour in the lysosomal storage disorder aspartylglucosaminuria, has not been previously studied, however. The sleep-wake behaviour of 81 patients with aspartylglucosaminuria (AGU, age 3-55 years, median 22 years; 42 female and 39 male) and 49 controls (age 2-57 years, median 18 years; 25 female and 24 male) was assessed through a postal survey.

The daily rhythms of melatonin and free fatty acids in goats under varying photoperiods and constant darkness.

The purpose of the study was to explore parallel and divergent features of the daily rhythms of melatonin and plasma free fatty acids (FFA) in goats exposed to different lighting conditions. From these features, we attempted to analyze whether the endogenous melatonin rhythm plays any role in the maintenance of the FFA rhythm. Seven Finnish landrace goats were kept under artificial lighting that simulated the annual changes of photoperiod at 60 degrees N (longest photoperiod, 18 h; shortest, 6 h).

Wrist actigraphy in estimation of sleep and wake in intellectually disabled subjects with motor handicaps.

Background And Purpose: We studied the applicability of wrist actigraphy to sleep-wake estimation in patients with motor handicaps.

Patients And Methods: Concomitant polysomnographic and actigraphic recordings (16-24 h) were compared in three groups: normally moving subjects with normal sleep (n=10), sleep-disordered subjects without motor handicaps (n=13) and sleep-disordered patients with different motor disabilities (n=16). The motor abilities of the subjects were determined by clinical evaluation using a grading scale from 0 to 10.

Daily and annual variations of free fatty acid, glycerol and leptin plasma concentrations in goats (Capra hircus) under different photoperiods.

The aim of the study was to differentiate the impact of lighting conditions and feeding times on the regulation of lipid metabolism of goats under different photoperiods throughout the year. Seven Finnish landrace goats were kept under artificial lighting that simulated the annual changes of photoperiod at 60 degrees N (the longest light period 18 h, the shortest 6 h). Ambient temperature and feeding regime were kept constant.

Shared means and meanings in vocal expression of man and macaque.

Vocalisations of six Macaca arctoides that were categorised according to their social context and judgements of naive human listeners as expressions of plea/submission, anger, fear, dominance, contentment and emotional neutrality, were compared with vowel samples extracted from simulations of emotional-motivational connotations by the Finnish name Saara and English name Sarah. The words were spoken by seven Finnish and 13 English women. Humans and monkeys resembled each other in the following respects.

Automatic blink detection: a method for differentiation of wake and sleep of intellectually disabled and healthy subjects in long-term ambulatory monitoring.

Objectives: To develop a method for automatic detection of blinks in electrooculograms and to evaluate reliability of blink rate as an indicator of wake and sleep in subjects with developmental brain disorders.

Design: Categorization of wake and sleep by blink rate was compared with visual sleep scoring of the polysomnograms.

Setting: Ambulatory polysomnographic recordings at home or in the sleep laboratory.

Serum cortisol levels in goats exhibit seasonal but not daily rhythmicity.

The aim of the study was to find out whether there is a daily rhythm in goat serum cortisol concentrations, whether the concentration profiles differ between normal light:dark and constant dark conditions, and whether any seasonal variations might be detected in daily cortisol secretion patterns. Seven Finnish landrace goats were kept at indoor temperature (18-23 degrees C) under artficial lighting that approximately simulated the annual changes of daylength at 60 degrees N. Blood samples were collected for cortisol measurements by radioimmunoassay at 2h intervals during six times of the year: winter (light:dark 6:18h), early spring (10:14h), late spring (14:10h), summer (18:6h), early fall (14:10h), and late fall (10:14h).

Sleep fragmentation in mentally retarded people decreases with increasing daylength in spring.

We studied the sleep-wake behavior of mentally retarded people from late winter to early summer at 60 degrees N. During this time the daylength increased 8 h 51 min. The data were collected by observing the sleep-wake status of 293 subjects at 20-min intervals for five randomized 24h periods (= recording days).