In previous posts, Health Talk has pointed to a number of benefits quality sleep can have on your personal health.

Despite the fact quality sleep can reduce your risk of heart disease, decrease stress and alleviate high blood pressure, sleep is a valued commodity that many people struggle to obtain. Others simply underestimate the affects it can have on their quality of life.

University of Minnesota Physicians sleep expert Michael Howell, M.D., recently investigated the relationship between sleep and human performance, with a focus on athletics in particular.

Howell found that athletic performance is improved by optimizing sleep.

The latest issue of the Minnesota Medical Foundation’s Neurosciences News publication is now available in print and online.

Neurosciences News is a publication for those who support brain, nerve and muscle disease research, education and care at the University of Minnesota.

Click here to see a snapshot of the news and updates from the latest issue.

Jerrold L. Vitek, M.D., Ph.D., professor and Head of the Department of Neurology at the University of Minnesota, is an internationally-renowned neurologist and movement disorder specialist. Although Dr.  Vitek has received many professional accolades for his achievements throughout his illustrious career, he still retains the same high level of interest in what led him to medicine in the first place: his love for helping patients.

As a movement disorders specialist, Dr. Vitek regularly diagnoses and treats patients with Parkinson’s disease, a progressive neurological condition that causes tremors, rigidity, slowness of movement and postural changes which can lead to difficulties doing regular activities and even walking.  Some of his patients are affected by a disorder called dystonia, a movement disorder characterized by abnormal muscle contractions which cause involuntary twisting and repetitive movements.

Currently, there are no cures for either condition.  But, there are treatments that can make the conditions more manageable.

In search for the right treatment, Dr. Vitek evaluates the patient and identifies the severity of their symptoms to help determine the best treatment option.  Early on, patients with Parkinson’s disease are prescribed a series of medications to replace dopamine (L-dopa and dopamine agonists).  Most patients with Parkinson’s disease see improvements in their movement when taking these medications, but over a period of 5 to 7 years the medications typically have diminished effectiveness and increased side effects.

For dystonia, patients are typically treated with a combination of medications that block acetycholine or affect other neurotransmitters (chemical messengers) in the brain which help to minimize muscle spasms and relax the muscles.  Unfortunately, these medications aren’t always effective and may have too many side effects for patients with dystonia.

It’s at these points that Dr. Vitek will have a patient evaluated to determine if he/she is a suitable candidate for deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery.  If the patient is a suitable candidate and decides to go ahead with surgery, a DBS lead (insulated wire) is surgically inserted into a site deep within the brain known to control movement.  A few weeks later, the patient has an insulated wire extension and neurostimulator which is used to provide the power source and make DBS parameter adjustments, implanted in their body under the skin.  Electrical impulses are sent from the neurostimulator at selected DBS settings through the extension wire to the lead implanted in the brain to stimulate this region of the brain and change the pattern of electrical activity into a more normal state, thereby improving their symptoms.

DBS treatments for patients with Parkinson’s disease and dystonia can be very effective, providing some patients with long-lasting results and a sense of normalcy, despite their condition. Dr. Vitek sees the impact that treatment he provides can personally have on a patient.

“One of the many amazing things about working with these patients is that we can see them improve with DBS right before our eyes.” Vitek said. “For example, in patients with Parkinson’s disease, their tremors cease, their posture improves and they are often able to walk normally. It’s remarkable.”

By understanding more about where and how the brain is operating abnormally in each of these conditions as well as how DBS affects activity at the cellular level to improve specific symptoms, Dr. Vitek and his colleagues are better equipped to develop and test new DBS treatment strategies.  Ultimately, this research can translate into changes in clinical treatment options for affected patients, thereby improving patient symptoms, minimizing possible side effects, and improving quality of life.

“I’ve been working with patients for a long time, but I never lose the thrill that comes with helping people. For me, that feeling never gets old.”

The grunt.

Called a distraction by some and a performance enhancer by others, the grunt has been heard in games ranging from Olympic weightlifting to table tennis. It has also, undoubtedly, become a norm in both men and women’s professional tennis where the noise rings out as players strike the ball.

Grunting is so much a part of the game that Olympics sound engineers have set up thousands of microphones at the 2012 games to capture those moans and yells for television viewers worldwide.

So what’s the deal? Do those shrieking, screaming, cacophonous noises serve some kind of purpose? Or are they just an annoying distraction?

University of Minnesota Men’s Tennis Head Coach Geoff Young and U of M Department of Neurology assistant professor Michael Howell, M.D. provide some answers.

You may not know it, but you may be one of every three Americans who will sleepwalk during their life.

University of Minnesota Medical School Professor of Neurology Mark Mahowald, M.D. and fellow researchers from across the nation found that 29% of adults will sleepwalk during their lifetime and 3 to 4% of us–or 8.4 million Americans–have sleepwalked in the past year. Mahowald and his colleagues’ findings were published this week in the journal Neurology.

“It was formerly thought that sleepwalking was seen commonly in children but not in adults,” says Mahowald. In reality however, sleepwalking is “very, very prevalent”.

Sleepwalking’s prevalence among the general population is much higher than many medical professionals and members of the community think.

Because parts of the brain can be awake while other parts are still asleep, the brain is capable of carrying out complicated behaviors (such as sleepwalking) while the conscious mind is still asleep.

While Mahowald and colleagues’ study found that Americans already suffering from sleep disorders such as sleep apnea or insomnia, those taking sleeping pills and those suffering from depression or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) were more likely to sleepwalk than other groups, Mahowald emphasizes that anyone can sleepwalk.

“Initially, it was thought that it was related to psychiatric and psychological problems,” he says. “People don’t want to bring it up because they are afraid they will be told it’s psychiatric. But, clearly, it’s not related to psychiatric problems.”