To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: DG DISPATCH - BTS: Treatment For Sleep Disorder Cuts Driving Risks URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/150F12.htm Doctor's Guide December 15, 1999
By Mark Pownall Special to DG News LONDON, UK -- December 15, 1999 -- Treatment of the sleep disorder obstructive sleep apnoea, helps prevent driving errors that can cause road accidents, according to new research presented at the British Thoracic Society's winter meeting in London today (Wednesday, December 15). Obstructive sleep apnoea is usually defined as breaks in breathing of more than ten seconds, more than five or ten times an hour. The condition usually involves loud snoring. Disturbed sleep means sufferers are often sleepy and less alert during the day. The new research, from the Oxford Sleep Unit, looked at how an established treatment for sleep apnoea affected driving performance, as measured in a 30 minute computer simulation. In the study, funded by the British Lung Foundation, reaction times and overall sleepiness (measured by maintenance of wakefulness tests, MWT) returned to normal levels after treatment. The treatment, nasal continuous positive airway pressure, gently pumped air into the lungs through the nose during sleep. Treatment reduced the number of steering mistakes drivers made during simulation, but the steering of sleep apnoea patients was still worse than those without the condition. Consultant physician Dr Melissa Hack, now at the Royal Gwent Hospital, who carried out the study said: "Sleepiness for any reason causes people to perform much worse at driving. Patients with untreated sleep apnoea performed worse when we tested them in a driving stimulation. For the first time, we have shown that treatment of sleep apnoea continues in the long term - over five to six months - in improving driving performance." Dr Hack says drivers who find themselves falling asleep at the wheel, should pull over as soon as it is safe. "They should seek medical help because their condition may be treatable, and driving while sleepy poses a risk to all road users." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.