OOPS! I forgot to wear my CPAP!

Could sleep apnea be responsible for Rick Perry's now infamous OOPS moment during his disastrous republican debate performance?

It turns out that out that Governor and former presidential candidate Rick Perry was diagnosed with sleep apnea while he was campaigning during his failed bid for the republican presidential nomination. A spokesmen for Perry's office confirmed that the Governor had been diagnosed with sleep apnea that had not treated when at the time he famously forgot to recall one of the three federal agencies he had proposed eliminating (in mid debate). The OOPS moment (as it has been dubbed) was considered by most to be the moment that ruined his already troubled bid for president.

The aid who reported that the Governor was suffering from sleep apnea speculated that Governor Perry could have been suffering from the disorder for years before he was diagnosed. Since it has been shown that untreated sleep apnea can cause tissue loss in areas of the brain that help store memory, once can't help but wonder if Perry's presidential bid would have been more successful if he had been wearing his CPAP!

Click here to view the incident (though it is painful to watch) 

-Mr. Sleep

Sleep Apnea Causes Cancer???

As the list of disorders that are associated with Sleep Disordered Breathing (SDB) continues to grow, the latest addition to the list has certainly raised eyebrows. A new study performed at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine has demonstrated "increased episodes of hypoxia (inadequate supply of oxygen) are associated with accelerated cancer progression." (SleepReviewMag, 2012). The study (although done in vitro and on animals) suggests that sleep apnea increases the cancer mortality rate in humans.

This study is fascinating and will spawn a series of sub-studies that will likely reveal more specific details about this correlation. In the meantime, it is important to spread the word about the relationship between cancer and sleep disordered breathing to family doctors, internists, oncologists and pretty much everyone else...

(Click Here For The Full Article)

-Mr. Sleep

OSA and diseases of the eye

As sleep disordered breathing become better understood, health professionals are becoming more and more aware of how the disorder relates to other diseases. Two new studies have recently been published that show that people with sleep disordered breathing have a higher risk of cancer.

Another relation that is not very well known, is the relation between sleep disordered breathing and diseases of the eye. Dr, Swaraj Bose is a board certified ophthalmologist, a neuro-opthalmologist and an orbital surgeon who specializes in treating patients with diseases of the eye in relation to the brain. On his blog, he recently posted an article that examines the links between sleep disordered breathing and disease of the eye. His article explains that sleep disordered breathing can cause Non Arteritic Ischemic Optic Neuropathy (NAION), Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH) / Pseudotumor cerebri (PTC), Floppy Eyelid Syndrome (FES) and Glaucoma / Normal Tension Glaucoma.

To read Dr. Bose's article, click here.