Talking Sleep – An AASM Podcast
Listen to Talking Sleep, a podcast of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), for insightful discussions about the latest developments in the practice of clinical sleep medicine. Season five is now playing, and you can listen to the archived episodes from past seasons. Be sure to subscribe through your favorite podcast platform so you never miss a new episode.
We’d love to hear from you! Send your feedback and suggestions for Talking Sleep topics and guests to podcast@aasm.org.
Season Six
Episode 1:
Sleep as an Opportunity to Improve Maternal Mortality
Welcome to Season Six of Talking Sleep! We are starting the new year by examining that time in our lives when we welcome new lives into the world. We often think about pregnancy as a joyful time. But, for too many women in the U.S., pregnancy leads to significant morbidity and mortality. Our U.S. maternal mortality rate increased from 20.1 per 100,000 live births in 2019 to 32.9 per 100,000 live births in 2021. For black women, this was 69.9 deaths per 100,000 live births. The causes are severe bleeding, infections, and preeclampsia/eclampsia. The CDC indicates that 4 out of 5 pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S. are preventable. Dr. Ghada Bourjeily is here to show us how maternal mortality intersects with sleep medicine. (47:47) Listen now
Episode 2:
Sleep and Alzheimer’s Disease
We routinely see patients with dementia in our sleep clinics but often do not meet them until they present with a sleep complaint such as insomnia or obstructive sleep apnea. We know that sleep and dementia have a bidirectional relationship. Is there a way to identify those who are at higher risk of dementia and intervene earlier? Is there a polysomnographic fingerprint? Should polysomnography be performed in those who are felt to be at higher risk of dementia? How can we, as sleep clinicians, potentially impact the course of dementia? Are there special considerations for our patients who have dementia and a comorbid sleep disorder? Dr. Brendan Lucey help us explore these issues further. (41:40) Listen now
Episode 3:
A practical approach to treating RLS
Johns Hopkins colleagues Dr. Rachel Salas and Dr. Sara Benjamin discuss the basics of treating restless legs syndrome (RLS), focusing on an updated algorithm published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings in 2021 by the Scientific and Medical Advisory Board of the Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation. Topics of discussion include pharmacological treatment options, the risk of augmentation, potential impulsivity, and non-pharmacologic treatments (47:26) Listen now
Episode 4:
Sleep, OSA and sickle cell disease
While sleep disorders are associated with numerous health complications, one area that doesn’t receive much attention is the impact of sleep and sleep disorders on those with sickle cell anemia. A study published in Sleep and Breathing found that children with sickle cell disease and comorbid obstructive sleep apnea had 47% more health complications than those with sickle cell disease who had a lower risk for OSA due to negative OSA screenings or exams. These complications seemed to be related to nocturnal hypoxia. Pain from a sickle crisis also can lead to sleep fragmentation. Dr. Sonal Malhotra discusses the many ways in which she tries to optimize sleep for her patients with sickle cell anemia. (34:10) Listen now
Episode 5:
Neurotransmitters, insomnia pharmacotherapy and mental health
We know that CBT-I is the gold standard treatment for insomnia, but it remains inaccessible for many due to cost or the limited availability of trained professionals. For patients with comorbid mental health disorders, insomnia treatment may improve their sleep and mental health, but sleep restriction therapy may not be the most appropriate modality. Dr. Chris Bojrab is a psychiatrist who has embraced sleep care as a vehicle to improve the mental health of his patients, and he has expertise in neurotransmitters. He discusses pharmacologic treatment of insomnia and some important considerations in those with mental health disorders. (55:15) Listen now
Episode 6:
NIV and other considerations for the Philips Respironics PAP device recall
While CPAP devices are similar across manufacturers, there are more significant differences in the advanced modalities of ventilatory support. Dr. Lisa Wolfe is well known for her granular knowledge of mechanical ventilation, including noninvasive ventilation (NIV). She discusses some aspects of NIV that may become pertinent as both sleep labs and patients transition off devices recalled by Philips Respironics. She also addresses concerns related to patients who have complex conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), obesity hypoventilation syndrome, and neuromuscular disease. (42:19) Listen now
Episode 7:
Acoustic stimulation for improving sleep
There are a handful of direct-to-consumer devices that claim to improve the quality of our sleep by using acoustic stimulation. What is the science behind these devices? Dr. Roneil Malkani is an associate professor of neurology in the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University. He collaborates with others to study acoustic stimulation during sleep and its impact on sleep architecture. He describes how these devices work and how clinicians should approach them. (39:00) Listen now
Episode 8:
OSA proteomics and metabolomics
We know that there are a billion people in the world with undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and that it simply isn’t practical to have every person undergo a sleep study. Are there other methods that might be more efficient identifying those at the highest risk of OSA? Laura Castillo is a chemist who has studied biological matrices to identify biomarkers for obstructive sleep apnea. Her research involves analyzing sweat and she has found that there are specific markers for those with severe OSA and those without any OSA. Dr. David Gozal has been working in this field for many years and has published extensively. He has also studied urine proteomics as a method to identify sleep disordered breathing in children. (43:13) Listen now
Season Five
Season Four
Season Three
Season Two
Season One
Our Host
Seema Khosla, MD, is board certified in internal medicine, pulmonary disease, critical care medicine, and sleep medicine. She works in Fargo, North Dakota, where she is the medical director of the North Dakota Center for Sleep.
Dr. Khosla is chair of the AASM Public Awareness Advisory Committee. She previously served on the AASM Task Force on Sleep Telemedicine, which developed a position paper for the use of telemedicine for the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders, and chaired the AASM Consumer and Clinical Technology Committee, which developed a position statement on the use of consumer sleep technology in clinical practice. Dr. Khosla also was co-chair of the AASM Sleep Medicine Trends course.
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