Treatment of Sleep Disorders After Brain Injury May Not Relieve Symptoms

Results of a small prospective study cast doubt on the potential benefits of treating sleep disorders associated with traumatic brain injury (TBI).

"I was originally interested in the phenomenon of posttraumatic hypersomnia in the TBI population after treating a TBI patient who had multiple sleep disorders, which, when treated, resulted in a dramatic improvement in overall quality of life," Dr. Richard J. Castriotta told Reuters Health.

He has since observed "a high frequency of obstructive sleep apnea and (relatively speaking) narcolepsy" after TBI.

To further explore these issues, Dr. Castriotta, at the University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, and colleagues collected data on 57 adults with TBI, which they report in the April 15 issue of Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.

Read the full article at sleepreviewmag.com