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ESRS 50th Anniversary JSR Special Issue Webinar Report

The ESRS 50th Anniversary JSR Special Issue Webinar took place earlier this week on Monday, 5th September 2022. This was led by Prof. Dr. Dieter Riemann, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Sleep Research. He was joined by several contributors of the JSR special issue who addressed a wide range of topics on sleep medicine and sleep research. 

Here’s a quick summary if you weren’t one of the 150+ individuals who joined us live.

Origin and relevance of the two-process model of sleep regulationAlexander Borbély

The early stages of the two-process model were based on animal studies. There is a decline of the slow wave (SWS) fraction of non-REM sleep (NREM) phase then an increase in the active phase when the animal is awake. It was found that when animals were sleep deprived <in-phase>, there was an increase in slow wave activity followed by a decline, then again, an increase. After conducting a sleep deprivation experiment out of phase, a two-stage recovery of sleep was evident – the first, during the active phase when the animal still maintains its waking period, and then a delayed recovery when the proper sleep period starts.

This was evidence that there are two processes interacting for regulating sleep – a homeostatic process depending on wake and sleep, and a circadian process independent of sleep and waking. This model is still relevant today as seen in the continued increase in publications and citations it has received.

RBD: Past, present and futureBirgit Högl

Before it´s clinical description in humans, Europeans from as early as the 17th Century have recorded observations that would turn out later to be part of REM Sleep Behaviour Disorder (RBD).

Presently, there are several publications groups dedicated to RBD research. They have made contributions such as making the diagnostic criteria for RDB clear-cut (AASM Manual for the Scoring of Sleep and Associated Events), even though it is not that easy. This is why the International RBD study group continues to work on improving the criteria and the procedure for video-polysomnography (V-PSG) for the diagnosis of RBD and prodromal RBD (Cesari et al. 2022). Innovative contributions have also been made on biomarkers of neurodegeneration in RBD patients.

Future perspectives of RBD might involve the replacement of PSG because it is so cumbersome, and instead greater use of actigraphy, V-PSG and 3D videos.

Memory consolidation during sleepKerstin Hödlmoser

Memory consolidation is investigated by participants first learning material when they are wake, then the information is reactivated (or consolidated) during sleep, then it is retrieved the next day. Active systems consolidation theory states that new information is simultaneously encoded in the neocortical and hippocampal networks, and through repeated hippocampal replay, memory traces are indicated in the existing cortical networks and thereby consolidated, and resistant to interference.

Dr. Hödlmoser presented a longitudinal study of memory consolidation in children and later on as adults and found that memory performance in general increases as people develop, and also that as children there was a slight decrease in performance after sleep, but as adolescents, it was stabilised.

OSA or OSAS? a half-century of progressing insightDirk Pevernagie

The AASM defines OSA as AHI ≥ 5 + symptoms and/or comorbidity or AHI ≥ 15, however, this might be too simple and introduces problems. The model relies on AHI as the primary predictor, allows interference of causality and attributes a disease state even without symptoms.

New paradigms for OSA(S) include: 1) moving away from the monolithic syndrome definition, 2) abstaining from a one-size fits all solution, 3) disentangling the many components of the pathogenic process into an integrative disease model and 4) identifying treatable traits.

A new integrative disease model of OSA was proposed that considers the number of respiratory events, as their systemic effects when integrated gives the degree of overnight exposure and also the end-organ impact. This model is currently being used by the Sleep Revolution project.

For more details on the presentations, the recording of this webinar is available to ESRS members on-demand. Not yet an ESRS member? Join us today to gain access to this in addition to even more membership benefits.

And don’t forget, you can secure your printed copy of the JSR Special Issue in Athens, Greece at Sleep Europe 2022 at the ESRS Booth. This is the first printed version of the journal to be printed since 2011.

ESRS Reminders

Sleep Europe 2022 Registration

Registration for Sleep Europe 2022 in September in Athens, Greece will remains open. If you can make it to Athens, you can still secure your onsite ticket. If not, online registration will remain open until the end of the congress so you can join us virtually.
View the entire scientific programme and register today

Sleep Europe 2022 Teaching Courses

Sign up today for teaching Courses to be held in-person only in Athens, Greece on Tuesday, 27 September 2022. You can earn between 3 and 6 CME credits for your participation in each course.
More details here.

GEF Gender Equality Survey

The Gender Equality Forum (GEF) has launched a gender equality survey to establish a baseline understanding of gender inequality within the ESRS right now in order to set goals for future improvement. Please complete this 3 minute anonymous survey to help them improve gender equality within the ESRS.
Take the survey.

Nominations  Open for ESRS Scientific Committee

The Board invites you to submit nominations for members of the 2022 – 2024 Scientific Committee. This is an excellent way in which you can get more involved in the society and contribute in an even greater way to the sleep science field, especially our biennial congress.
Deadline: 14 September 2022
More details here.

Recent publications from ESRS members

  1. Petersen, Kecklund & Åkerstedt (2022). Disturbed sleep and its attribution to stress and other causes: A population-based survey. Scand J Psychol.
  2. Garbazza et al. (2022). Influence of chronotype on the incidence and severity of perinatal depression in the “Life-ON” study. J Affect Disord.
  3. Silvani et al. (2022). Pervasive and diffuse muscle activity during REM sleep and non-REM sleep characterises multiple system atrophy in comparison with Parkinson’s disease. J Sleep Res.
  4. Pecotić et al. (2022). The COVID-19 lockdown promotes changes in sleep habits in the Croatian general population. Croat Med J.
  5. Evans et al. (2022). Orexin 2 receptor-selective agonist danavorexton improves narcolepsy phenotype in a mouse model and in human patients. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A.
  6. Peter-Derex et al. (2022). Safety and efficacy of prophylactic levetiracetam for prevention of epileptic seizures in the acute phase of intracerebral haemorrhage (PEACH): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial. Lancet Neurol.
  7. Mutti et al. (2022). Clinical characteristics of a large cohort of patients with narcolepsy candidate for pitolisant: a cross-sectional study from the Italian PASS Wakix® Cohort. Neurol Sci.
  8. Fietze et al. (2022). Management of obstructive sleep apnea in Europe – A 10-year follow-up. Sleep Med.
  9. Lazzareschi et al. (2022). Sleep-disordered breathing in patients with Chiari malformation type II: a case-control study and review of the literature. J Clin Sleep Med.
  10. Bassetti CLA et al. (2022). The European Academy of Neurology Brain Health Strategy: One brain, one life, one approach. Eur J Neurol.
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