Alberta Innovates- Health Solutions

(CALGARY, AB) Tuesday, February 8, 2005... A leading international scientific journal has published a study by Heritage researcher, Dr. William Whitelaw. Dr. Whitelaw and his team have discovered that patients suffering from sleep apnea can be diagnosed equally and as effectively in the comfort of their own home as they can in a lab.

In the January edition of the scientific publication - American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Dr. Whitelaw publishes his results from a study involving 288 patients. Dr. Whitelaw demonstrates that patients with obstructive sleep apnea who visit a sleep clinic, undergo the usual examinations and have a costly high-tech, overnight laboratory sleep test, fare no better than patients who have a simpler, cheaper monitoring evaluation. A home monitor detects apneas (pauses in breathing) simply by following the body's oxygen level overnight. The laboratory test, called a polysomnogram measures many additional things including sleep state, breathing, cardiac rhythm, and leg movements; however, all the extra information from those sorts of assessments is unneeded for deciding how to best treat patients suspected of having sleep apnea. The results from Dr. Whitelaw's investigation help to justify the use of home tests to evaluate patients quickly and cheaply, therefore shortening waiting lists for people with a common and debilitating health problem.

Dr. Whitelaw is a University of Calgary Professor in the Department of Respiratory Medicine within the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Calgary. The Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR) provided funding for Dr. Whitelaw's study.

What: Media opportunity to interview: Dr. William Whitelaw, and sleep apnea patient, Ms. Maria Berg

When: Tuesday February 8, 2005

Time: 10:00 AM to 12:00 Noon *

Where: Foothills Sleep Clinic - Room EG 11 (1st Floor)
Foothills Medical Centre - 1403-29 St. NW

* To arrange an interview, please call Dwayne Brunner - AHFMR Communications Coordinator at (780) 966-1518.

A Photo Opportunity with physician / researcher and patient will be available

• Obstructive sleep apnea affects around 3% of the population. It is as common as adult asthma. Most cases are undiagnosed and go untreated.

• Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when a person stops breathing repeatedly during sleep. Breathing stops because the airway collapses and prevents air from reaching the lungs.

• Left untreated, obstructive sleep apnea places one at risk for:
  • Sleepiness and difficulty concentrating
  • Decreased quality of life.
  • Fatigue-related motor vehicle & work accidents
  • High blood pressure
  • Possibly heart disease or strokes

• The alternative to a simple home-based oximeter test is a more labour intensive and costly polysomnography - which is conducted during normal sleep so clinicians can assess sleep patterns. A patient is hooked up to various electrodes to monitor important body functions during sleep, including the electrical activity of the brain, eye movements, muscle activity, heart rate, respiratory effort, air flow, and oxygen levels in the blood. This exam is provided in a sleep center by a qualified respiratory therapist who has specialized training. A report is then submitted to a physician specialist, who reviews the results and determines the presence or absence of sleep apnea.

• The Health Research Fund, administered by AHFMR on behalf of Alberta Health and Wellness, provides funding for the research being conducted by Dr. William Whitelaw. In 2004, the Health Research Fund awarded $1.8 million to 17 separate research projects ranging from kidney disease research to developmental motor disabilities at Universities throughout the Province.

• The Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research currently provides funding for over 600 researchers and researchers in training at the Province's three main universities. The foundation supports a community of researchers who generate knowledge that improves the health and quality of life of Albertans and people throughout the world. AHFMR's commitment is to fund health research based on international standards of excellence and carried out by new and established investigators and researchers in training. For more information, visit www.ahfmr.ab.ca.