Therapix Biosciences Ltd, a specialty, clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focusing on the development of cannabinoid-based treatments, released interim results from its Phase IIa clinical study at Assuta Medical Center in Israel. The results suggest that THX-110, a combination of dronabinol (∆-9-tetrahydracannabinol) and CannAmide (palmitoylethanolamide, or PEA), positively affects symptoms in adult subjects with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The study is being conducted under the leadership of Yaron Dagan, MD, MSc, head of the Sleep Medicine Institute at Assuta, and principal investigator, Dr Lilach Kemer.

This Phase IIa clinical study is an open label study, which includes 30 patients diagnosed with OSA, to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of once daily oral administration of THX-110. The interim report summarizes the data from the first 7 patients which completed the study per protocol and one patient who dropped out from the study early due to adverse events (dizziness). Out of the 7 patients who completed the study, 4 patients exhibited significant improvement in all assessed study parameters, including reduction in apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) scale and an improvement in oxygen desaturation index (ODI),

Recently unemployed people with undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea have a higher risk of having lost a job multiple times, according to preliminary results from a new study presented at SLEEP 2019.

Results show that individuals with undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea were more likely to have experienced multiple involuntary job losses. Compared to participants who did not have sleep apnea, those with moderate-to-severe sleep apnea were more than twice as likely to have a history of multiple job layoffs or firings.

“These results suggest that undetected obstructive sleep apnea could have long-term, negative effects on vocational functioning,” says principal investigator Patricia Haynes, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Health Promotion Sciences at the University of Arizona in Tucson, in a release.

This analysis of data from the ongoing, prospective Assessing Daily Activity Patterns through occupational Transitions (ADAPT) study involved 261 participants with an average age of 41 years; 58% were women. Seventy-three percent received hourly wages rather than a salary, and about 45% of participants had a history of multiple job losses. Breathing during sleep was evaluated with

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare has made its F&P SleepStyle CPAP available to the United States market. The positive airway pressure device initially launched in New Zealand and Australia in 2017.

F&P SleepStyle strives to strike a balance between comfort and effective treatment by including an auto algorithm with central apnea detection and a range of comfort options. Features include an easy-access chamber, user-friendly menu, large and responsive menu buttons, built-in connectivity options and a quiet, integrated design. Expiratory relief of CPAP pressure during exhalation is also provided.

The device includes ThermoSmart humidification featuring a heated breathing tube with AirSpiral technology to minimise condensation, and SensAwake, which detects wakefulness and automatically reduces treatment pressure to a comfortable level.

Built-in cellular and Bluetooth connectivity options ensure both patients and clinicians can receive information . Patients are able to track their own progress and receive troubleshooting tips using a mobile app of the same name (“F&P SleepStyle”). The F&P InfoSmart patient management system automatically highlights patients who need their clinician’s attention.

Roughly 170 million people across North and South America have sleep apnea, according to a study ResMed presented at SLEEP 2019.

The study, a deeper analysis of ResMed’s 2018 finding that 936 million people worldwide have sleep apnea, concludes that:

• 170 million people in North and South America (37% of adults) have sleep apnea, based on the AASM 2012 criteria—a “conservative” estimate.
• 3 countries with the highest number of cases are the United States (54 million), Brazil (49 million), and Colombia (11 million).

“Previous estimates stated 100 million worldwide have sleep apnea. Now we know it’s nearly double that in just the Americas alone,” says study coauthor and ResMed chief medical officer Carlos M. Nunez, MD, in a release. “Given how common sleep apnea is, especially among people with other common diseases, doctors should screen their high-risk patients and help those who are diagnosed get onto life-changing treatment as soon as possible.”

The gold standard treatment for sleep apnea is a positive airway pressure (PAP) device that prevents the intermittent suffocation associated with sleep apnea by blowing a mild stream

The mission of the National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) is to improve the quality of health care in jails, prisons, and juvenile confinement facilities. Earlier this year, its board of directors adopted a position statement on adolescent sleep hygiene.

Adolescent insomnia is often related to medical comorbidities (including sleep apnea, particularly among obese youth and those who snore loudly) as well as the following risk factors often found in incarcerated youth:

• Psychological conditions (e.g., attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorders, depressive and other mood disorders)
• Poor sleep hygiene (e.g., inconsistent sleep schedules, caffeine)
• Acute stress/family disorganization
• Substance use (especially marijuana, alcohol, psychostimulants)

Read the position statement at ncchc.org

If not diagnosed early, children can be unfairly labeled with a learning disability or lack of emotional growth, reports Fox13.

“Imagine a child not getting good quality sleep at night,” Dr. Ortiz added. “They are not going to be able to do well at school; they aren’t going to interact well with their peers. That can change their whole lives.”

Get the full story at www.fox13news.com

Can you solve this sleep medicine-themed crossword puzzle, designed specifically for Sleep Review readers? A hard copy published in the June/July 2019 issue.

By Myles Mellor

Click on the thumbnail or 0619 Crossword to open a printable PDF.

Across

1 WHO suggested this activity as an alternative to screen time for children, in addition to reading, storytelling, and singing
5 It drives a CPAP
8 Disorder where breathing stops and starts during sleep due to the brain not sending adequate signals to breathing muscles, abbr.
10 Craving
11 Connector used during sleep study
12 Responsibility
13 Time of arrival, abbr.
15 Motionless
17 Series of repeating events, such as stages of sleep
18 Discharge, as a nose
19 Stopped sleeping
20 Shows signs of waking
22 Close to, abbr.
24 Ocean motions
26 Origins
28 Government hospital, abbr.
29 Makers of the travel-friendly Z2 CPAP
32 Most common form of treatment for sleep apnea, abbr.
33 Ending from breath and sleep
35 Volcanic material that can cause severe air pollution
36 Basketball organization, abbr.
37 Susceptibility to a substance that