Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders: Kayumov L

Moller HJ, Barbera J, Kayumov L, Shapiro CM. · Department of Psychiatry, Sleep and Alertness Clinic, Toronto Western Hospital, University of Toronto, 399 Bathurst St, Toronto, Ont. M5T-2S8, Canada. · Sleep Med Rev. · Pubmed #15062209 No free full text.

Abstract: Epidemiological trends towards a 'graying' population make the issue of insomnia in the elderly an increasingly important research and clinical topic. It is often challenging to determine how much of a psychiatric dimension there is to a clinical condition that is best viewed as both as a symptom and a true psychosomatic entity in its own right. To categorize insomnia as either psychiatric or medically based risks oversimplification of the complexities of sleep disruption in the elderly. Normal senescence-related changes in sleep architecture and circadian rhythms must be considered, as well as the frequent medical comorbidities that may affect sleep. Psychiatric diagnoses to consider include mood and anxiety disorders, which may be affected equally by physiological and psychological changes implicit in old age. Sleep disruption related to dementia is of particular interest to clinicians involved with patients in long-term care facilities. Insomnia may occasionally be iatrogenically induced or exacerbated, and particularly antidepressants must be carefully selected for this reason. Light therapy and behavior therapies are important in multimodal treatment of insomnia, and sleep hygiene includes both regular physical and social activities to preserve entrainment of circadian rhythms affecting sleep.

Shen J, Chung SA, Kayumov L, Moller H, Hossain N, Wang X, Deb P, Sun F, Huang X, Novak M, Appleton D, Shapiro CM. · Department of Psychiatry, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario. · Can J Psychiatry. · Pubmed #16491981 No free full text.

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to characterize the effects of mirtazapine on polysomnographic sleep, especially slow wave sleep (SWS) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, as well as its effects on clinical symptoms in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). METHOD: Sixteen MDD patients were treated with mirtazapine 30 mg taken 30 minutes before bedtime. Polysomnographic and subjective sleep, as well as other clinical data, were collected at baseline and on Days or Nights 2, 9, 16, 30, and 58 during treatment. We used repeated measures analysis of variance, including pairwise comparison, to analyze data statistically. RESULTS: Mirtazapine administration increased total SWS and the SWS in the first sleep cycle, but not SWS in the second sleep cycle. The medication increased REM latency and the duration of the first REM episode; it also decreased the number of REM episodes. Simultaneously, mirtazapine significantly reduced wake-after-sleep onset and scores on the Athens Insomnia Scale. After patients took the medication, scores on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-17 (HDRS-17) decreased rapidly and continuously. The changes on the Beck Depression Inventory-II were consistent with those on the HDRS-17. The medication has a tendency to increase weight. CONCLUSIONS: Mirtazapine significantly improved sleep quality, reversed sleep markers of depression, and reduced depressive symptoms in this group of MDD patients.

Spence DW, Kayumov L, Chen A, Lowe A, Jain U, Katzman MA, Shen J, Perelman B, Shapiro CM. · Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. · J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci. · Pubmed #14990755 links to  free full text

Abstract: The response to acupuncture of 18 anxious adult subjects who complained of insomnia was assessed in an open prepost clinical trial study. Five weeks of acupuncture treatment was associated with a significant (p = 0.002) nocturnal increase in endogenous melatonin secretion (as measured in urine) and significant improvements in polysomnographic measures of sleep onset latency (p = 0.003), arousal index (p = 0.001), total sleep time (p = 0.001), and sleep efficiency (p = 0.002). Significant reductions in state (p = 0.049) and trait (p = 0.004) anxiety scores were also found. These objective findings are consistent with clinical reports of acupuncture's relaxant effects. Acupuncture treatment may be of value for some categories of anxious patients with insomnia.

Kayumov L, Brown G, Jindal R, Buttoo K, Shapiro CM. · Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, and University Health Network, Toronto Western Hospital, Ontario, Canada. · Psychosom Med. · Pubmed #11211063 links to  free full text

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: The effects of exogenous melatonin on sleep, daytime sleepiness, fatigue, and alertness were investigated in 22 patients with delayed sleep phase syndrome whose nocturnal sleep was restricted to the interval from 24:00 to 08:00 hours. This study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial. Subjects received either placebo or melatonin (5 mg) daily for 4 weeks, underwent a 1-week washout period, and then were given the other treatment for an additional 4 weeks. Patients could take the melatonin between 19:00 and 21:00 hours, which allowed them to select the time they felt to be most beneficial for the phase-setting effects of the medication. METHODS: Two consecutive overnight polysomnographic recordings were performed on three occasions: at baseline (before treatment), after 4 weeks of melatonin treatment, and after 4 weeks of placebo treatment. RESULTS: In the 20 patients who completed the study, sleep onset latency was significantly reduced while subjects were taking melatonin as compared with both placebo and baseline. There was no evidence that melatonin altered total sleep time (as compared with baseline total sleep time), but there was a significant decrease in total sleep time while patients were taking placebo. Melatonin did not result in altered scores on subjective measures of sleepiness, fatigue, and alertness, which were administered at different times of the day. After an imposed conventional sleep period (from 24:00 to 08:00), subjects taking melatonin reported being less sleepy and fatigued than they did while taking placebo. CONCLUSIONS: Melatonin ameliorated some symptoms of delayed sleep phase syndrome, as confirmed by both objective and subjective measures. No adverse effects of melatonin were noted during the 4-week treatment period.