Clinical Trials

Endothelial dysfunction, or abnormal functioning of the lining of blood vessels, appears to be a key process in the development of cardiovascular disease. Endothelial dysfunction appears to be caused by both sleep disordered breathing and obesity. As endothelial dysfunction is among the first clinical marker that predicts future cardiovascular events, understanding molecular mechanisms leading to impairment of endothelial function is very important. Endothelial function requires the proper functioning of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS). eNOS activity is tightly regulated by caveolin-1, a protein important in the formation of cellular structures called caveolae. Low levels of caveolin-1 facilitate optimal nitric oxide synthesis in endothelial cells as caveolin-1 helps to spatially organize eNOS in close proximity to signaling proteins that are important for eNOS activation. In certain diseases however, the balance of caveolin-1 and eNOS can be disrupted resulting in impaired nitric oxide synthesis and leading to endothelial dysfunction.

The investigators therefore seek to characterize levels of caveolin-1, and correlate this with the presence or absence of sleep disordered breathing, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. The current IRB protocol covers the performance of fat biopsies on subjects who have recently completed a sleep study either in the Center for Sleep Medicine or in our sleep laboratory and were found to have sleep disordered breathing or no sleep disordered breathing, subject with sleep disordered breathing who have been treated successfully with continuous positive airway pressure for 3-6 months, and subjects undergoing other studies in our lab who are obese or non-obese and subjects who have known cardiovascular disease and subjects without known cardiovascular disease.

The purpose of this study is to gather information on sleep duration and sleep patterns in Native American families.

Background Sleep deprivation of medical staff and especially trainees has been a concern for many years. There is growing evidence that lack of sleep by staff and trainees increases risks of acute and chronic illness and injury. Concern about judgement and performance have led to significant regulation and reduction of  trainee work hours and frequency of call over the past two decades. There is conflicting evidence whether these changes have had a positive impact on patient care. There is a need to objectively measure the range of sleep obtained and activity performed by staff and resident physicians across different work shift patterns and call schedules. This project will use wearable activity monitors to objectively measure the amount and quality of sleep under several different shift and call schedule patterns.

The purpose of this study is to determine the baseline chronotype patterns (with Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ) ) among inpatients with Major depressive disorder and then compare the chronotype distribution with the control group.

The purpose of the study is to conduct qualitative interviews of participants in a sleep restriction study who were allowed free snacking to learn about their self-observations regarding their eating motivations and behaviors.

The purpose of this study is to measure electrophysiologic biosensor signals recorded from patients. We will measure electrophysiologic and biosensor signals in patients with neurological, psychiatric, sleep and medical disorders, and compare them to measurements in age- and sex-matched controls without these disorders, and analyze medical records  to determine possible demographic or clinical predictors for observed differences in signal characteristics between patients and controls. The goal is to define biosensor signal characteristics and alterations in human subjects and their associations with clinical characteristics and to explore changes in biosensor characteristics over time in selected individuals.

The aims of this study are to determine the types and severity of previously undiagnosed sleep deficiencies in otherwise healthy Somali Americans, apply a research framework to define psychosocial, behavioral, environmental, and biological mechanisms mediating sleep deficiencies in Somali Americans, and examine the relationship between sleep deficiencies and increased blood pressure in Somali Americans.

The purpose of this study will be looking at patients diagnosed with post-COVID, continue to experience symptoms and report experiencing sleep issues.  Each study participant will receive a Brain Activity Sensing Headband system with an APP, wearable activity tracking device, and earbuds to participate in the study to complete study activies.  Study participation lasts approximately 6 weeks involving wearing the headband system in the evenings before bed for a minumum of 10 minutes, participating in 4 weeks of sleep meditation before bed with the system, and wear the activity tracking device to track sleep.  The earbuds may be used with participation in the meditations.  Participants will also be asked to complete sets of surveys during study participation.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the clinical presentations, polysomnographic features, treatment patterns of all children with narcolepsy in multiple CTSA (Clinical and Translational Science Award) centers.Comparison between recent cases (2009-June 30, 2012) and old cases (prior to 2009) will be performed.  To assess the role of infection and other triggering factors in early onset Narcolepsy.

The purpose of this study is to document the long-term outcomes of secondary (symptomatic) narcolepsy in the pediatric patient population at the Mayo Clinic using chart review and mailed questionnaire.