Here are some highlights from Days 2 and 3 of our sleep apnea and snoring course: Gary Foster, PhD, a long-time faculty member at Temple University and more recently the C0-Chief Scientific Officer at Weight Watchers, showed new studies evaluating the benefits of weight loss in improving moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea, providing evidence… Read more »

I am writing from Orlando and the 21st Annual Advances in Diagnosis and Treatment of Sleep Apnea and Snoring course, for which I am a Co-Director.  We were so happy to have close to 200 attendees for the 3 day meeting, reflecting the strong interest in sleep apnea and snoring among physicians and dentists from… Read more »

If you have side effects from oral appliances and want to consider sleep apnea surgery instead, you can schedule an in-person visit or telehealth video consultation with Dr. Kezirian. Surgery for snoring and sleep apnea has potential risks and side effects.  As a surgeon writing this post, I feel like I have to emphasize that there… Read more »

I am writing from Detroit and Henry Ford Hospital, the site of the 2014 International Surgical Sleep Society meeting.  The meeting brings together leaders from around the world, discussing the latest topics related to surgical and many non-surgical treatments other than positive airway pressure therapy (such as CPAP) and oral appliances.  This was the 6th… Read more »

This month (October 2014) I wrote an editorial in the medical journal SLEEP about a research study that appeared in the same issue.  The study is fascinating because it provides a deeper explanation not only of why weight gain is associated with worse sleep apnea and poorer outcomes for many sleep apnea treatments but why not… Read more »

The lay press can be quick to jump on reports in the medical literature, especially when it comes to snoring and obstructive sleep apnea.  This has positive and negative impacts, but one of the downsides is that the public can read an article and misunderstand the findings.  Companies with products described in medical articles can… Read more »

Many colleagues and individuals have thanked me for developing my sleep-doctor.com main website and blog.  To be honest, it has required hundreds of hours of time for this amateur website developer.  All the same, it helps my patients and has allowed me to share information about snoring and obstructive sleep apnea.  I recognize that the… Read more »

A recent story on NPR News reported that half of all patients win their appeal of denials by health insurance companies.  They told the story of a patient with sleepiness and loud snoring who saw a doctor that recommended a sleep study.  The insurance company denied authorization for the sleep study.  The patient filed an… Read more »

Here is an interesting study of direct personal relevance, given the recent birth of my daughter.   Numerous studies have demonstrated important benefits of breastfeeding for infants and mothers, but a study in the March 2014 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine has added one to the list.  Some of my former colleagues… Read more »

After a successful start to the course, Day 2 began with Allan Pack, MBChB, PhD of the University of Pennsylvania.  Allan had given the final talk of Day 1, in which he delivered a thought-provoking lecture on the future of the field of sleep medicine.  He has campaigned for a shift for the field, like… Read more »