N. Foldray-Schaefer, J. Krishna, K. Budur (eds): a case a week: sleep disorders from the Cleveland clinic

Excerpt

Sleep medicine has developed into a viable clinical and scientific field over the last four decades; but it is still a little kid compared with other established medical specialties. The knowledge base for sleep medicine is inherently multidisciplinary and involves basic neuroscience, physiology, and behavioral principles, which the sleep clinician can anticipate to use every day. The editors of this book have been working in a sleep center that has existed for more than 20 years, and collectively, the editors and the authors of the 52 cases have seen thousands of patients. The purpose is to introduce clinical and laboratory sleep medicine through case histories of patients from the Cleveland Clinic Sleep Disorders Center. For each case, its authors select a patient to highlight a particular class of sleep disorders, ranging from the most ordinary to some of the more exceptional presentations. All major classes–hypersomnia, parasomnia, insomnia, and sleep disorders secondary to medical and neurologic illness–are represented. There are few missing pieces, perhaps panic attacks or reflux, that might have been presented, but even these topics are touched upon in a differential diagnosis or treatment plan in one or more cases. …