Sleep Disorders

SAN FRANCISCO -- Scalding hot wash water is most effective against allergens in the laundry, as allergists have recommended, but lower temperatures may be sufficient if an extra rinse cycle is added.

ROCKVILLE, Md., May 10 -- A transdermal patch for early symptoms of Parkinson's disease has won FDA approval.

SEATTLE -- Only 16% of sedating antihistamine use among older patients at VA medical centers was for an appropriate indication, researchers reported here.

SEATTLE -- Hospitalized patients slept longer when their nurses straightened patients' sheets and blankets at bedtime or avoided talking at the patients' bedsides when making nighttime rounds, researchers reported here.

SEATTLE -- Light, physical activity and other non-drug therapies may be as effective against insomnia in the elderly as pharmacologic interventions, researchers said here.

SAN FRANCISCO -- A significant number of patients with major depression also suffer from chronic insomnia that hampers recovery, and treating the insomnia may improve both conditions.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Remission rates remain low for major depression even with multiple antidepressant drug classes available, but the recently approved selegiline patch (Emsam) aims to bring the rates up.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Atypical antipsychotic medications have improved adverse-event profiles compared with the older generation of antipsychotics, but careful attention to major side effects is still required.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA has approved the first generic versions of zolpidem tartrate, marketed for years as Ambien, for short-term treatment of insomnia.

BRADFORD, England -- Well-meaning physicians may unwittingly induce delirium in older patients when they prescribe medications such as antihistamines or sleep aids, according to a literature review.

ATLANTA -- A rabies-therapy protocol that saved an unvaccinated Wisconsin teenager from death in 2004 has not rescued two other youngsters, the CDC reported.

MONTRÉAL -- Restless legs syndrome may boost nocturnal blood pressure and exacerbate cardiovascular disease risks, particularly among older patients, investigators here suggested.

BALTIMORE -- Sleep disturbance may set up a vicious cycle of spontaneous and chronic pain, which in turn can contribute to sleep loss, investigators here have found.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- For patients with Parkinson's disease poorly controlled by levodopa alone, the addition of ropinirole (Requip) both reduced "off" time and allowed for lower doses of levodopa.

Oral Contraceptives: Five Vignettes Illustrate Dx and Rx Problems-- and Solutions

A 38-year-old secretary has had right wrist pain for the past 6 months. It was initially relievedby ibuprofen but is now persistent and makes it difficult for her to type. The pain is worse atnight.

Sleep complaints are common in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Many patients complain of morning tiredness, early awakenings, difficulty in falling asleep, restlessness, and daytime sleepiness. Functional status may eventually be impaired by the resulting chronic fatigue that is compounded by dyspnea.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Major depression severity is much the same in a psychiatric clinic as it is in the practice of a generalist, reported investigators in a multicenter study.

LIVERPOOL, England -- Lamotrigine (Lamictal) should be the drug of choice for patients with partial-onset epileptic seizures while valproate (Depacon) heads the list for generalized and unclassifiable seizures, two major studies have found.

TOKYO -- Bystander CPR without mouth-to-mouth ventilation doubled the chance that those in cardiac arrest would have a good neurologic outcome, researchers here reported.

TOKYO -- Obstructive sleep apnea patients have a high rate of silent brain infarctions that can be seen by magnetic resonance imaging, according to researchers here.

ROCKVILLE, Md -- The FDA has taken steps to ensure that clinicians and patients are aware of rare bizarre effects associated with sedative hypnotics, including driving or eating while sleeping.

STANFORD, Calif. -- Despite hopes that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors can help control kleptomania, a small randomized trial of one agent yielded no more than a placebo response.

GRENOBLE, France -- Nearly 60% of patients with pacemakers have undiagnosed sleep apnea, according to a small European study.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA has warned all hospitals about a possible unanticipated fallout from an act of Congress -- the three-week-early shift to daylight savings time. All medical events triggered by computer clocks could chime an hour out of whack on Sunday.