A 10-item version of the Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire is analyzed.

By Yoona Ha

For years, the Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire (FOSQ) has served as an important tool for patients to report on how daytime sleepiness has affected their ability to carry out daily tasks that healthy sleepers usually don’t think twice about such as driving, eating, or even talking to someone on the phone.

In the past, clinicians and researchers didn’t have clear guidelines to determine the minimal important distance for the FOSQ-10. However, a recent study explained just how the tool could be used to expand a providers’ understanding of their patients.

This recent breakthrough was made possible by the push among clinicians, researchers, and patients themselves to pay more attention to patients’ firsthand reports of their symptoms and how it affects the quality of their lives. In fact, in 2018, the FDA put out a digital tool that aims to make it even easier for patients to provide more data, like symptoms or medication use.

Terri Weaver, PhD, RN, FAAN, ATSF, dean of the University

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SoClean, a CPAP sanitizing device company, has been named by Deloitte as one of America’s fastest growing technology companies. SoClean ranked as number 54 on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500 and grew revenues by 2,805%. This ranking considers the 500 fastest growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences and energy tech companies in North America.

“We are honored to be recognized by Deloitte for the remarkable growth we have achieved in recent years as we serve a robust and continuously growing number of CPAP patients in the US and Europe,” says Robert Wilkins, CEO of SoClean, in a release. “I am proud of the continuous dedication of our team, and I want to thank our loyal customers who continue to use our products and services. SoClean remains dedicated to raising public awareness of sleep apnea and other sleep breathing disorders, which often go undiagnosed and untreated.”

SoClean has adapted a process using activated oxygen—ozone—that has been shown to destroy up to 99.9% of bacteria and viruses in the mask, hose, and reservoir of CPAP equipment.

“SoClean believes CPAP cleaning should be simple

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There’s a silent epidemic in western civilization, and it is right under our noses, according to a new book published by Stanford University Press. Jaws: The Story of a Hidden Epidemic tells the story of how our jaws are getting smaller and our teeth crooked and crowded, creating not only aesthetic challenges but also difficulties with breathing. Modern orthodontics has persuaded us that braces and oral devices can correct these problems. While teeth can certainly be straightened, what about the underlying causes of this rapid shift in oral evolution and the health risks posed by obstructed airways?

Orthodontist Sandra Kahn, DDS, MSD, and evolutionistPaul R. Ehrlich present the biological, dietary, and cultural changes that have driven us toward this major health challenge. They propose simple adjustments that can alleviate this developing crisis, as well as a major alternative to orthodontics that promises more significant long-term relief.

Author Kahn is a graduate from the University of Mexico and the University of the Pacific. She has 25 years of clinical experience in orthodontics and is part of craniofacial anomalies teams at the

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The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) will add Alzheimer’s disease as a new qualifying condition for the state’s medical cannabis program. Under state law, the new condition will take effect in August 2019.

“Any policy decisions about cannabis are difficult due to the relative lack of published scientific evidence,” says Minnesota Commissioner of Health Jan Malcolm, in a release. “However, there is some evidence for potential benefits of medical cannabis to improve the mood, sleep, and behavior of patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.”

As in years past, MDH used a formal petitioning process to solicit public input on potential qualifying conditions. Throughout June and July, Minnesotans submitted petitions to add qualifying conditions. Following this petition period, the process included public comments and a citizens’ review panel. MDH staff also prepared a set of documents summarizing the available research pertaining to the use of medical cannabis for each prospective condition.

Petitioners put forward seven conditions this year: Alzheimer’s disease, hepatitis C, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, opioid use disorder, panic disorder, psoriasis and traumatic brain injury. After reviewing the research summaries and other

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West Virginia University (WVU) Medicine otolaryngologists Steven Coutras, MD, and Rusha Patel, MD, performed the state’s first robotic tongue base volume reduction procedure to treat a patient with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). This procedure is available to patients who have not had success with other sleep apnea interventions.

“Robotic surgery allows us to treat patients who may not be candidates for the traditional approach for a variety of reasons,” Coutras says in a release. “OSA has a significant impact on the lives of our patients, and this treatment can lead to improvements in their ability to breathe, swallow, eat, and sleep.”

Because nocturnal airway collapse in OSA often involves obstruction at the tongue base, transoral robotic surgery (TORS) can be used to treat moderate to severe OSA. Candidates for this procedure have significant obstruction at the tongue base as determined by awake endoscopic exam or by drug-induced sleep endoscopy and do not have retrusive jaw, an inability to extend the neck, or limited ability to open the mouth.

Robotic surgery provides the surgeons with a better view of the tongue

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Atlanta-based FusionHealth is collaborating with the University of Michigan for a clinical trial called Sleep SMART (Sleep for Stroke Management and Recovery Trial), during which researchers will investigate whether obstructive sleep apnea diagnosis and treatment improves stroke recovery or reduces the likelihood of another stroke.

While the association between stroke and sleep apnea is clear, experts still don’t know the nature of it: whether many patients’ sleep apnea was always there, and may have led to the stroke, whether the sleep apnea was exacerbated or created due to the stroke, or whether it’s a combination of the two. Nonetheless, the association offers a prime treatment opportunity.

“Not only do the majority of post-stroke patients suffer from sleep apnea, but they are also often at a heightened risk of another stroke,” says Jeffrey Durmer, MD, PhD, sleep expert and co-founder of FusionHealth, a sleep health technology company that provides employers and healthcare systems with population-based solutions to address sleep issues such as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), in a release. “The results of this study could be revolutionary in providing both preventative

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Aeroflow Healthcare, a durable medical equipment (DME) provider, acquires Wheelock Home Medical’s continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) resupply program. This line of business ensures medical devices are replaced regularly to fully adhere to patients’ sleep apnea treatment.

The acquisition of Wheelock Home Medical’s program allows CPAP resupply patients in Michigan access to Aeroflow’s advanced resupply process, providing patients with new, sanitized equipment based on their individual replacement schedules. Wheelock Home Medical has planned the transition of care for these patients as a function of closing its business.

“By acquiring Wheelock Home Medical’s CPAP resupply line, Aeroflow expands its geographic reach and is now better equipped to continue its ongoing mission of improving patients’ quality of life,” says Andrew Amoth, corporate development associate, Aeroflow Healthcare, in a release. “The transition of Wheelock’s patient base was executed in a very patient-friendly manner, and Aeroflow will ensure the patients are provided with the service and attention required to support their sleep therapy.”

To provide more patients with exceptional care, Aeroflow states that it will continue to expand via mergers and acquisitions with a

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