Richardson, Jarrett W.

Abstract Introduction Clinical hypnosis is among the limited treatment options currently available to mitigate the symptom burden associated with parasomnias; however, there is scant literature regarding its effectiveness. We conducted a retrospective cohort study to examine the efficacy of clinical hypnosis in treating parasomnias. Methods We included all adult patients with research authorization on file who were referred for clinical hypnosis for the management of parasomnias at the Mayo Clinic Center for Sleep Medicine. Data on demographics, type and frequency of parasomnia(s), number of hypnosis sessions, concurrent medication(s), and polysomnographic variables were extracted. Information about the efficacy of treatment, including patient reports of change in intensity and frequency was extracted where available. A Clinical Global Impression-Improvement (CGI-I) score was assigned based on review of the follow up note. Results A total of 134 patients received clinical hypnosis. A majority of the sample was female (65.67%) with a median age of 41.5 years. The most common indications were non-rapid eye movement (REM) parasomnia (33), REM sleep behavior disorder (27), nightmare disorder (24), parasomnia overlap disorder (11), and sleep-related eating disorder (8). Follow up data were available on 76 patients (56.71%). Of these, a total of 47/76 (61.84%) reported subjective improvement in parasomnias following hypnosis. The median CGI-I score was 3.07±1.22; a total of 23/76 (30.26%) reported substantial improvement and 19/76 (25.0%) reported some impovement based on the CGI scores. Conclusion A majority of patients reported improvement in symptoms. Clinical hypnosis was effective for both non-REM and REM parasomnias. Given its relative safety and minimal potential adverse effects, clinical hypnosis remains an effective first-line treatment option for parasomnias. Support (if any)

Abstract Study Objectives Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (RBD) share some common features including prominent nightmares and sleep disturbances. We aimed to comparatively analyze REM sleep without atonia (RSWA) between patients with chronic PTSD with and without dream enactment behavior (DEB), isolated RBD (iRBD), and controls. Methods In this retrospective study, we comparatively analyzed 18 PTSD with DEB (PTSD+DEB), 18 PTSD without DEB, 15 iRBD, and 51 controls matched for age and sex. We reviewed medical records to determine PTSD clinical features and quantitatively analyzed RSWA. We used nonparametric analyses to compare clinical and polysomnographic features. Results PTSD patients, both with and without DEB, had significantly higher RSWA than controls (all p < .025, excepting submentalis phasic duration in PTSD+DEB). Most RSWA measures were also higher in PTSD+DEB than in PTSD without DEB patients (all p < .025). Conclusions PTSD patients have higher RSWA than controls, whether DEB is present or not, indicating that REM sleep atonia control is abnormal in chronic PTSD. Further prospective studies are needed to determine whether neurodegenerative risk and disease markers similar to RBD might occur in PTSD patients.

In this study of career healthcare missionaries (N = 393), 47.9% of female missionaries and 42.1% of male missionaries reported experiencing anxiety, while 32.5% of female missionaries and 27.5% of male missionaries reported experiencing depression. For both females and males, depression severity scores showed a bimodal distribution of more and less severe depression, suggesting a clearer delineation for mild and severe depression. Regression analyses found that low role satisfaction was associated with both anxiety (p = .006) and depression severity (p = .004). A model is proposed describing the relationship between role satisfaction and its correlates: job expectations prior to arriving on the field, receptivity of the host country, gender, and imbalance of work and ministry. This model also describes the bidirectional relationship between role satisfaction and the existence of depression and/or anxiety.

Fatigue is the problematic symptom identified by patients with cancer. However, fatigue has not been widely examined in caregivers of patients with cancer. In this study, 131 caregivers of patients diagnosed with advanced stage cancer and actively receiving radiotherapy reported experiencing the most difficulties with fatigue (mean 46.9; on a 0-100 scale, with a 10-point difference having clinical meaning) at baseline and at a 6-month follow-up (mean 48.3). This is in sharp contrast to other domains of quality of life and functioning being rated in the 60s, 70s and 80s by the caregivers of patients with cancer. Given the level of fatigue reported by the caregivers of patients with cancer, if confirmed by other investigators in larger and more diverse samples, interventions targeting caregiver fatigue should be explored.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a highly effective psychiatric treatment for states of depression, mania, psychosis, or behavioral agitation in dementia. As it does involve intravenous access, general anesthesia, and significant side effects, it may be viewed as too ‘‘invasive’’ for patients on palliative care measures. However, we describe several patients treated on our busy ECT service at a tertiary hospital, who were receiving palliative care who, on balance, were felt to have better quality of life with continued use of ECT. We conclude that ECT should not be automatically discarded in patients receiving palliative care and offer some guidelines for its use in this population.

There has been much research documenting the impact of having a loved one diagnosed with advanced cancer, but little is known about how to reduce care-giver burden. In this randomized controlled trial, the authors examined the potential relationship of an advanced cancer patient’s participation in an 8-session, structured, multidisciplinary intervention on the care-giver’s burden and quality of life (QOL). Although the patients randomly assigned to the intervention (n = 54) demonstrated improved QOL compared to the control condition (n = 49) participants ( P < .05), there was no evidence that improving the patient’s QOL made an impact on the caregiver’s level of burden or the care-giver’s QOL. Further investigation is warranted in this area, including interventions specifically designed and targeted to both reduce caregiver burden and to improve caregiver QOL.