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Also In Global Health News: U.N. Asks For IDP Aid; Gates On Polio & HIV/AIDS Vaccine; AIDS Cases Triple In Indonesia; Drugs In Kenya, Uganda & Liberia
U.N. Agencies, NGOs Appeal For $37M For IDPs In Pakistan
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Alastair Campbell Gets Majority Vote! Mind Champion Of The Year 2009
Alastair Campbell has won Mind"s Champion of the Year Award for his significant contribution to raising awareness of mental health. He beat fellow nominee and chat show host Paul O"Grady, among other mental health campaigners, to the prestigious award announced yesterday evening.
News of the day
Boys With Intermittent Eye Deviation Appear More Likely To Develop Mental Illness
Children and especially boys diagnosed with intermittent exotropia, a condition in which the eye turns outward (away from the nose) only some of the time, appear more likely to develop mental illness by young adulthood than children without strabismus (when the eyes deviate or are misaligned when looking at an object), according to a report in the June issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Oncology

To Maintain Normal Daily Function, Those With Insomnia Need Increased Brain Activation

According to a research abstract presented at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, patients suffering from chronic primary insomnia (PIs) have higher levels of brain activation compared to normal sleepers during a working memory test. Results show that PIs use increased brain activation relative to good sleepers during the working memory task, particularly in areas responsible for visual-spatial attention and coordination of cognitive processes. This activation may explain how PIs maintain performance on the task despite their sleep difficulties. PIs also were found to have decreased activation in visual and motor areas, which may suggest that PIs have higher baseline activation in these regions relative to good sleepers. According to principal investigator Henry Orff, MS, at the University of California in San Diego, Calif., these findings show that PIs, like individuals who are acutely sleep deprived, may be able to maintain performance on different tasks if they are able to compensate with increased brain activation. "The good news is that patients with insomnia are probably able to function well in their daily lives and likely do not show significantly impaired performance," said Orff. "That said, patients may have to work, concentrate, and attend more to tasks than people who sleep well." The study included 12 people with primary insomnia (six females) with an average age of 39.4 years, and nine good sleepers (four females) with an average age of 35.7 years. Performance was compared between the two groups on a working memory task. Functional MRIs (FMRI) taken during the task also were compared. Behavioral performance was measured by reaction time for correct responses, number of correct responses, and number of errors committed. The authors state that they do not know yet whether the findings suggest potential long-term implications for cognitive functioning in the future if primary insomnia is left untreated. Abstract Title: Insomnia Patients Show Increased Cerebral Activation when Compared to Good Sleepers during an NBack Working Memory Task Presentation Date: Tuesday, June 9 Category: Sleep Disorders - Insomnia Abstract ID: 0779 Kelly Wagner American Academy of Sleep Medicine


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