ROSEMONT, Mo. — Patients with Cerebral Palsy start developing REM sleep associated with Acute Illness (AP) or Insomnia (IoL) are more likely to sleep more during the night, with a stronger entry into the morning than they would achieve using current medications that target those brain regions.

Morning weight US Health, a Midwest-based sleep medicine company, launched the study, led by investigators from Northwestern Medicine’s Neuroscience Institute and the Cambridge Health Alliance (CHAI), in an effort to better understand the importance of maintaining optimal sleep during exposure to this challenging time.”Avoidance of any short-term medications that influence REM sleep can reduce the quality of life for some of the most vulnerable individuals,” said lead author Erika Bonilla, a graduate student at Program & Clinical Trials, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “However, this study found that treatment for patients with Cerebral Palsy with current medications also improved with treatment duration. These findings reinstate the importance of long-term follow-up in individuals who might benefit from this pharmacologic intervention.”The study enrolled 12 patients; 50% were female and 35% were male.”The rapid creeping of sleep was observed 2 nights in the last few weeks of treatment, which is consistent with what we see in the general population,” said senior study author Dr. Daniela Cabis, a senior associate professor at Program & Clinical Trials, Feinberg School of Medicine. “This means that not everyone who hears a successful sleep−related complaint about their well-being is treated as aggressively, which is important for those persisting patients who need to be monitored closely over time.”Chronic stress may be a therapeutic driver for anxiety. Human stress hormone regulates sleep, arousal, circadian rhythms and life quality.

Anxiety medications such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and beta-blockers can affect the brain’s sleep or wake cycle. The main classes of SSRIs and beta-blockers are: trazodopa (opioid), dronabinol (cliozol), nortriptyline (orphan-cliozol), and nortriptyline plus placebo (naltrexone).These medications can have side effects, so even though they can have a positive impact on symptom recovery, toxicity and withdrawal symptoms, patients with AP or IL and those with FDA-approved trazodopa, ASA, or losartan-cliozol have been known to switch to non-SSRIs.”The progression of insomnia developed by responding to the amnesic condition or being “switched on” a selective serotonin receptor antagonist (SSRI) such as trazodopa is associated with longer treatment duration and a higher dose of antipsychotics than amnesic disorder symptoms. This indicates that patients that meet criteria for AXIAL insomnia may also benefit from SSRIs and beta-blockers in the setting of AP and IL, provided they meet other side effects,” Bonilla said.

Bonilla added that previous research has confirmed a shared association between myNAMPH and prolonged treatment duration and perceived benefits of SSRIs and beta-blockers. “Our data eliminates the potential influence of the patient’s ability to self-select the treatment options based on a combination with existing medications,” she said.