Young people diagnosed with Type I diabetes are less likely to sleep well, which can lead to poor behaviours such as failure to properly monitor their blood sugar and trouble at school, according to a new study in the journal Sleep.
Dr. Michelle Perfect of the University of Arizona at Tucson and her colleagues studied the sleep health of 50 young people diagnosed with Type I diabetes. All participants were aged 10 to 16 years.
Compared to a control group of similar-aged youth not diagnosed with Type I diabetes, Perfect and her team found those with diabetes spent more of their sleep time in a lighter stage of sleep. The result, Perfect reported, was higher glucose levels, behavioural problems, lower grades, depression and an overall reduced quality of life.
More striking was the discovery that one-third of the study participants suffered from sleep apnea regardless of their weight. Sleep apnea is a disorder in which individuals stop breathing or breathe very lightly while sleeping, which can lead to poor rest and wakefulness. Sleep apnea typically develops in overweight adults and those with Type II diabetes.
Perfect wrote that sleep problems can be treated by qualified professionals, meaning young people with Type I diabetes could get a better night’s sleep, which could help rectify some of the other problems.
A report in the Archives of General Psychiatry is reporting deep brain stimulation (DBS) produces favourable results in individuals diagnosed with either major depressive disorder or a type of biplolar disorder that is resistant to other treatments.
Those who participated in the study received either DBS or no stimulation at all over a period of four weeks, followed by active stimulation for another six months with a two-year follow-up. In total, 17 individuals participated. Those patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder who participated were of the bipolar II group — patients who do not suffer full manic episodes, but do experience extreme and frequent depressive episodes. The suicide rate in individuals with bipolar II disorder is very high.
In DBS, high-frequency stimulation is targeted to areas of the brain specific to certain neuropsychiatric disorders. Each study participant received implants — two thin electrodes on each side of the brain, connected to a pulse generator to direct the electrical current that was implanted in the chest.
Response rates for those diagnosed with major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder climbed over time. Starting at 41 per cent with an 18-per-cent remission rate after six months, the response rate climbed to 92 per cent with a 58-per-cent remission rate by two years time. In those who reported remission, there were no cases of spontaneous relapse. Effectiveness of the treatment was identical for both sets of patients.
“Most of these patients have been in a depressed state for many years and are disabled and isolated,” said study co-author Paul Holtzheimer of Dartmouth Medical School. “As their depression improves, they need a process to help them achieve full recovery that includes integration back into society.”
