Sleep Disorders Across a Woman's Life Span:
A Challenge to Obstetricians and Gynecologists

Program Description:

Women in particular are subject to insomnia and sleep disruptions; 67% of women who responded to a poll commissioned by the National Sleep Foundation reported having sleep problems at least a few nights per week in the preceding month. Pregnant women and postpartum women were most likely to report that they never got a good night’s sleep, and sleep disturbances are reported to be among the most troublesome complaints of menopause. In postmenopausal women, 61% complain of insomnia and less satisfaction with sleep. These data are not surprising, inasmuch as the physiologic and psychological changes that women experience during the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and menopause are reflected in the architecture of sleep and the patterns of daytime somnolence and alertness. This monograph will explore insomnia and related sleep disorders in women throughout their life cycle. It will also clarify the nature of sleep and its architecture in women. Finally, it will review the various treatment modalities available to obstetricians and gynecologists, as well as those in development.

Activity Objectives:

At the conclusion of this educational activity, participants should be able to:

• Improve diagnostic accuracy in discerning women’s complaints commonly associated with insomnia disorders
• Identify the comorbid medical disorders and their association with insomnia and related symptoms
• Explain the importance of the sleep-wake processes and their impact on fundamental neurologic and physiologic processes and on daytime functioning
• Apply appropriate behavioral and pharmacologic intervention strategies to the management of sleep disorders, targeted to the patient’s chief complaint, with particular focus on therapies for chronic sleep maintenance insomnia

Faculty:

Karl Doghramji, MD (Chair)
Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior
Medical Director, Jefferson Sleep Disorders Center
Program Director, Fellowship in Sleep Medicine
Thomas Jefferson University
Philadelphia, PA

Thomas Roth, PhD
Clinical Professor of Psychiatry
University of Michigan School of Medicine
Director, Sleep Disorders and Research Center
Henry Ford Sleep Health System
Detroit, MI

Phyllis C. Zee, MD, PhD
Professor of Neurology
Director, Center for Sleep & Circadian Biology
Northwestern University
Feinberg School of Medicine
Chicago, IL

CME COURSE REVIEWER
David W. Appel, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Director of Sleep Disorders Center
Pulmonary Division, Department of Medicine
Montefiore Medical Center
Bronx, NY

Disclosures:

The Conflict of Interest Disclosure Policy of Albert Einstein College of Medicine requires that faculty participating in any CME activity disclose to the audience any relationship(s) with a pharmaceutical or equipment company. Any presenter whose disclosed relationships prove to create a conflict of interest with regard to their contribution to the activity will not be permitted to present.

Karl Doghramji, MD, is on the speakers’ bureaus of Boehringer Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithKline, Jazz, sanofi-aventis, Sepracor, and Takeda. He is a consultant for GlaxoSmithKline and sanofi-aventis and is a Merck shareholder.

Thomas Roth, PhD, receives grant/research support from Aventis, Cephalon, GlaxoSmithKline, Neurocrine, Pfizer, sanofi-aventis, Schering-Plough, Sepracor, Somaxon, Syrex, Takeda, TransOral, Wyeth, and Xenoport. He is a consultant for Abbott Laboratories, Acadia, Acoglix, Actelion, Alchemers, Alza, Ancile, Arena, AstraZeneca, Aventis, AVER, Bristol-Myers Squibb, BTG, Cephalon, Cypress, Dove, Elan, Eli Lilly, Evotec, Forest, GlaxoSmithKline, Hypnion, Impax, Intec, IntraCellular, Jazz, Johnson and Johnson, King, Lundbeck, McNeil, MedicNova, Merck, Neurim, Neurocrine, Neurogen, Novartis, Orexo, Organon, Prestwick, Procter and Gamble, Pfizer, Purdue, Resteva, Roche, sanofi-aventis, Schering-Plough, Sepracor, Servier, Shire, Somaxon, Syrex, Takeda, TransOral, Vanda, Vivometrics, Wyeth, Yamanouchi, and Xenoport. He is also on the speakers’ bureaus for Cephalon, sanofi-aventis, and Takeda.

Phyllis C. Zee, MD, PhD, receives grant/research support from Takeda. She is a consultant for Takeda, sanofi-aventis, Cephalon, Philips/Respiromics, GlaxoSmithKline, and Zeo.

This program is sponsored by Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

This program is supported by an educational grant from sanofi-aventis.

Instructions:

To obtain credit, a score of 70% or better is required. This CME is offered at no cost to participants. Please proceed with the activity until you have successfully completed this program, answered all test questions, completed the posttest survey, and have received your digital copy of your credit certificate. Your online certificate will be saved on myCME.com within your Profile/Exam History, which you can then access at any time.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:

WINDOWS PC SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
266-MHz Pentium II; Windows 98 or higher; 64 MB RAM; 800 x 600 screen resolution set for “High Color (16-Bit)”; Macromedia Flash Player 6 or higher.

MACINTOSH^® SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
Power Mac g3 at 300 MHz; System 8.5 or higher (excluding Mac OSX); 96 MB RAM; 20 MB minimum hard disk space available; 800 x 600 screen resolution set to “Thousands of Colors”; Macromedia Flash Player 6 or higher.