UA lab studying sleep disorders, treatments

About 50 percent of Americans over the age of 65 suffer from the sleep disorders, said Dr. Stuart Quan, director of the Sleep Disorders Center at the Arizona Sciences Health Center.

Quan works with the center's sleep laboratory. Its function is to diagnose and treat people who suffer from sleep disorders such as insomnia, sleep-walking, snoring and sleep apnea, where the patient stops breathing during sleep.

The sleep lab also researches various treatments and preventative measures for sleep disorders. Quan is presently researching the possibility of sleep apnea being a precursor to heart attacks.

Cheri Cross-Bushnell, an adjunct instructor in the University of Arizona's journalism department, is participating in Quan's research.

Cross-Bushnell, who has participated in research studies done by the center in the past, agreed to have her sleep monitored Sunday evening by an ambulatory sleep recorder, which records sleep behaviors on a computer chip to be downloaded at the lab.

"We don't know if these patients have sleep apnea," Quan said. "We study both patients with and without sleep disorders."

Cross-Bushnell said the sleep lab called her and asked if she would participate.

Lab technicians arrived at her home, and after filling out paperwork, connected Cross-Bushnell to the recorder.

In the sleep lab, Quan said patients are monitored by a polysomnigram, which monitors the first six brain-waves of the patient. The brain-waves are printed out on a polygraph in chart form. From these charts, Quan said doctors can examine things like eye movement, chin-muscle movement, leg twitching, snoring, breathing and body position.

Each page of the chart represents 30 seconds, he said.

Quan pointed out on an unidentified patient's chart that a flat line corresponding to the patient's breathing indicated that patient had stopped breathing.

He said any number of things can cause sleep apnea. People who are overweight might suffer from the disorder. An anatomic configuration of the face, such as "short jaws," can also cause sleep apnea, Quan said.

When the patient stops breathing, Quan said tissues in the airway collapse and block the airflow.

Restful sleep is impossible, he said.

Treatment involves using a face mask that holds the airway open with positive pressure, Quan said.

The sleep lab monitors two patients a night, usually for sleep apnea, he said.

Quan said the lab does not treat patients at their homes, although some research is conducted at patients' homes by him and other doctors.

The 15-year-old lab recently received a $2.5 million grant from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute for Quan's sleep-heart study.

Past research the sleep lab has participated in includes the prevalence of sleep disorders in cultural areas, as well as changes in sleep with the female menstrual cycle.