topiramate and Sleep-Initiation-and-Maintenance-Disorders

Insomnia in patients with alcohol dependence has increasingly become a target of treatment due to its prevalence, persistence, and associations with relapse and suicidal thoughts, as well as randomized controlled studies demonstrating efficacy with behavior therapies and non-addictive medications. This article focuses on assessing and treating insomnia that persists despite 4 or more weeks of sobriety in alcohol-dependent adults. Selecting among the various options for treatment follows a comprehensive assessment of insomnia and its multifactorial causes. In addition to chronic, heavy alcohol consumption and its effects on sleep regulatory systems, contributing factors include premorbid insomnia; co-occurring medical, psychiatric, and other sleep disorders; use of other substances and medications; stress; environmental factors; and inadequate sleep hygiene. The assessment makes use of history, rating scales, and sleep diaries as well as physical, mental status, and laboratory examinations to rule out these factors. Polysomnography is indicated when another sleep disorder is suspected, such as sleep apnea or periodic limb movement disorder, or when insomnia is resistant to treatment. Sobriety remains a necessary, first-line treatment for insomnia, and most patients will have some improvement. If insomnia-specific treatment is needed, then brief behavioral therapies are the treatment of choice, because they have shown long-lasting benefit without worsening of drinking outcomes. Medications work faster, but they generally work only as long as they are taken. Melatonin agonists; sedating antidepressants, anticonvulsants, and antipsychotics; and benzodiazepine receptor agonists each have their benefits and risks, which must be weighed and monitored to optimize outcomes. Some relapse prevention medications may also have sleep-promoting activity. Although it is assumed that treatment for insomnia will help prevent relapse, this has not been firmly established. Therefore, insomnia and alcohol dependence might be best thought of as co-occurring disorders, each of which requires its own treatment.

Topics: Acamprosate; Alcohol Deterrents; Alcoholism; Amines; Anti-Anxiety Agents; Anticonvulsants; Antipsychotic Agents; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; Comorbidity; Cyclohexanecarboxylic Acids; Diagnosis, Differential; Dyssomnias; Fructose; Gabapentin; gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; Humans; Polysomnography; Quetiapine Fumarate; Sleep Apnea Syndromes; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders; Stress, Psychological; Taurine; Topiramate; Trazodone

Neuropsychologic data are presented from a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter study with placebo, topiramate 50 mg/day, and topiramate 100 mg/day. The Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) and cognitive adverse events were used to evaluate neurocognitive effects of topiramate. Topiramate 100 mg/day vs placebo was associated with slight statistically significant score increases, indicating slowing, from baseline vs placebo in three CANTAB measures: five-choice reaction time (P = 0.028), pattern recognition memory mean correct latency (P = 0.027), and rapid visual information processing mean latency (P = 0.040). No other patterns related to topiramate treatment were observed in measurements of learning, memory, and visual information processing, except for potential improvement with topiramate 100 mg/day vs placebo in spatial span total errors (accuracy test) (P = 0.040). The most common cognitive and neuropsychiatric adverse events with a higher incidence in the topiramate 50 and 100 mg/day groups vs placebo were anorexia (9% and 11% vs 3%), insomnia (9% and 3% vs 3%), fatigue (6% and 9% vs 6%), and dizziness (6% and 9% vs 0%). Thus, topiramate 100 mg/day was associated with modest increases in psychomotor reaction times. Learning, memory, and executive function were unchanged. The tolerability profile, including cognitive adverse events, appeared to be acceptable.

Topics: Adolescent; Anorexia; Child; Cognition Disorders; Dizziness; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Double-Blind Method; Female; Fructose; Humans; Male; Migraine Disorders; Neuroprotective Agents; Neuropsychological Tests; Reaction Time; Recognition, Psychology; Severity of Illness Index; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders; Space Perception; Topiramate; Visual Perception

We aimed to describe a group of adults diagnosed with sleep-related eating disorder (SRED) at the Sleep Medicine Center of the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile.. We performed a descriptive study of 34 consecutive patients who met the criteria of the International Classification of Sleep Disorders for SRED evaluated during a 3-year period who did not have an eating disorder according to the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition. All patients had a structured clinical interview performed by a sleep specialist and completed the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Polysomnography (PSG) was performed when clinically indicated for ruling out other sleep-related disorders (18 patients; 52.9%). Patients' demographic and clinical data, comorbidities, and treatment response also were analyzed.. Most patients were women (n=23; 67.6%). The average age at the time of diagnosis was 39±13.8 (17-67 years) and the latency since symptom onset was 8.3±8.8 years. Most patients had several episodes per night (average, 2.6±1.6; 1-8) and all except one patient had partial or total amnesia of these events (n=33; 97%). Comorbidities were frequent and included insomnia (n=20; 58.8%), restless legs syndrome (RLS) (n=16; 47%), sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) (n=9; 26%), psychiatric disorders (n=13; 38.2%), and overweight or obesity (n=14; 41.1%). Most patients were hypnotic users (n=21; 61.7%) and reported weight-centered anxiety (n=23; 67.6%). Twenty patients (58.8%) were treated with topiramate, 17 of whom had adequate symptomatic responses.. Our SRED patients showed female preponderance, amnesia during the episodes, association with other sleep disorders, use of hypnotics, weight-centered anxiety, and positive response to topiramate. The presence of anxiety focused on weight in most patients may be an important element in the emergence of this behavior during sleep.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Chile; Comorbidity; Feeding and Eating Disorders; Female; Fructose; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Neuroprotective Agents; Polysomnography; Restless Legs Syndrome; Sex Factors; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders; Sleep Wake Disorders; Topiramate; Young Adult

Topics: Anticonvulsants; Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation; Circadian Rhythm; Cyclohexanols; Drug Therapy, Combination; Feeding and Eating Disorders; Feeding Behavior; Female; Fructose; Humans; Middle Aged; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders; Topiramate; Venlafaxine Hydrochloride