Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Sleep Apnea

Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is a condition where breathing stops intermittently during sleep, often leading to significant health issues. Each episode can last from 10 to 20 seconds or more and is frequently accompanied by a brief arousal from sleep. This disturbance, largely unnoticed by the individual, can lead to severe daytime fatigue. Commonly, individuals seek help after being informed by their partners about loud snoring and noticeable breathing pauses during sleep.
The condition is more prevalent among...

Drug Dosing: Geriatric Patients

Drug Dosing: Geriatric Patients

Elderly individuals encompass a diverse population with varying degrees of age-related physiological changes. Defining the elderly presents challenges, as the geriatric population is often arbitrarily categorized as individuals older than 65. However, many individuals in this group lead active and healthy lives, with an increasing number surpassing 85 years and falling into the older elderly category. Physiological changes associated with aging impact performance capacity and homeostatic...

Sleep-Wake Cycles

Sleep-Wake Cycles

Sleep is an essential physiological process vital to maintaining overall well-being. The reticular activating system (RAS), a network of neurons in the brainstem, regulates wakefulness and sleep. While it may seem passive, sleep consists of distinct cycles, each with its unique characteristics and functions. Two key sleep phases are non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM).
NREM Sleep
NREM sleep comprises four progressive stages that seamlessly merge:

Pharmacodynamics in Geriatric Patients: Effects of Age

Pharmacodynamics in Geriatric Patients: Effects of Age

Age-related pharmacokinetic changes are extensively documented, but understanding age-related pharmacodynamic alterations is relatively limited. This knowledge gap can be partly attributed to the complexity of developing appropriate measures of drug responses compared to bioanalytical methods for determining drug concentrations.Most information regarding age-related differences in human pharmacodynamics originates from cross-sectional studies. However, these studies assume that observed mean...

Sleepwalking and Sleep Talking

Sleepwalking and Sleep Talking

Somnambulism, commonly known as sleepwalking, involves individuals engaging in activities ranging from simple walking to more complex behaviors such as driving. Sleepwalking typically occurs during the slow-wave sleep stages 3 and 4 early in the night when the person is not dreaming, contradicting the myth that sleepwalkers are acting out their dreams.
Factors that increase the likelihood of sleepwalking include sleep deprivation and alcohol consumption. Contrary to common beliefs, it is safe...

Other Pulmonary Disorders

Other Pulmonary Disorders

Respiratory disorders encompass a range of conditions with varying levels of severity. Asthma, marked by chronic airway inflammation and hypersensitivity, is one such condition. It can lead to airway obstruction due to factors like bronchial spasms, mucosal edema, increased mucus secretion, or epithelial damage. Asthma triggers are diverse, ranging from allergens to emotional upset, and treatment focuses on both immediate relief through bronchodilators and long-term inflammation suppression.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Effect of sleep apnoea interventions on multiple health outcomes: an umbrella review of meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials.

EClinicalMedicine·2025

Same author

Assessing new treatments for central sleep Apnoea in heart failure: sample size considerations for reliable detection of safety signals.

Sleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung·2025

Same author

An overview of longitudinal data analyses in sleep research.

Sleep medicine·2025

Same author

Model-Based Analysis of Pulse Transit Time-Derived Features for the Classification of Obstructive and Central Apneas.

IEEE transactions on bio-medical engineering·2025

Same author

Cluster analysis in subjects living with obesity and association with bariatric surgery outcomes: The severe obesity outcome network cohort.

Clinical nutrition (Edinburgh, Scotland)·2025

Same author

How do we sleep while our beds are burning? High ambient temperatures are associated with substantial sleep loss.

Sleep·2025

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Acupoint Application Combined with Ear Plaster Therapy for Treating Sleep Disorders with Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Acupoint Application Combined with Ear Plaster Therapy for Treating Sleep Disorders with Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Published on: October 18, 2024

Sleep apnea in the elderly: a specific entity?

Sandrine H Launois¹, Jean-Louis Pépin, Patrick Lévy

¹HP2 Laboratory INSERM ERI EA 3745, Université Joseph Fourier, and Sleep Laboratory, Centre Hospitalo-Universitaire, Grenoble, France. sandrine.launois-rollinat@ujf-grenoble.fr

Sleep Medicine Reviews

|February 6, 2007

Summary

Sleep apnea is common in older adults, affecting men and women equally. While it may have less impact on mortality, it causes significant morbidity, necessitating effective treatment with CPAP.

More Related Videos

Multi-Modal Home Sleep Monitoring in Older Adults

Multi-Modal Home Sleep Monitoring in Older Adults

Published on: January 26, 2019

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Acupoint Application Combined with Ear Plaster Therapy for Treating Sleep Disorders with Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Acupoint Application Combined with Ear Plaster Therapy for Treating Sleep Disorders with Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Published on: October 18, 2024

Multi-Modal Home Sleep Monitoring in Older Adults

Multi-Modal Home Sleep Monitoring in Older Adults

Published on: January 26, 2019

Area of Science:

Gerontology
Sleep Medicine
Pulmonology

Background:

Sleep apnea is highly prevalent in individuals over 60, affecting both sexes similarly.
Pathogenesis in the elderly involves amplified causes of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) seen in younger adults.
While mortality impact may be less than in younger adults, morbidity remains significant.

Purpose of the Study:

To review the prevalence, presentation, and management of sleep apnea in the elderly.
To highlight distinctive symptoms in older adults, such as cognitive impairment and falls.
To emphasize the need for systematic sleep studies detecting central apneas and periodic leg movements.

Main Methods:

Literature review focusing on sleep apnea in the elderly population.
Analysis of SDB causes, symptoms, and treatment outcomes in older adults.
Comparison of SDB presentation and impact between elderly and younger populations.

Main Results:

Central apneas are frequently observed alongside obstructive and mixed events in the elderly.
Symptoms like secondary enuresis, nocturia, cognitive decline, and falls can be primary complaints.
Elderly patients tolerate CPAP therapy similarly to younger patients and benefit from treatment.

Conclusions:

Sleep apnea in the elderly presents with unique features and requires specific diagnostic considerations.
Effective treatment of SDB in older adults is crucial for managing associated morbidity.
Further research is needed to clarify the distinct characteristics and long-term outcomes of SDB in aging populations.