What's hot for research?

[Faebinder]

I need some interesting Sleep topic for research. What's hot now a days? Anyone with ideas that they dont care to follow or dont want to?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[michaelrack]

How long do you got to plan and carry out a project?? If time is short, you may only have time for a records based (Psg) project. I am assuming you are looking for something clinical vs basic science. If you have more time, you could do something like try to coordinate some questionnaire to ahi, or how about looking at correlation of home oximetry to ahi on a psg. I think the current hot area of research is diabetes/metabolism and osa.

 

[Faebinder]

How long do you got to plan and carry out a project?? If time is short, you may only have time for a records based (Psg) project. I am assuming you are looking for something clinical vs basic science. If you have more time, you could do something like try to coordinate some questionnaire to ahi, or how about looking at correlation of home oximetry to ahi on a psg. I think the current hot area of research is diabetes/metabolism and osa.

Mmmm... I got time. Three years is good.

Diabetes is always a hot topic and your idea is very interesting. Unfortunately I dont forsee me being able to pursue it in a Psychiatry residency as I wont be able to collect the necessary patients. Maybe when I do my Sleep Medicine elective. I was hoping for a more neurological/psychiatrical topic of Sleep Medicine.

 

[shrnkmd]

This might be a long task.... maybe you could get some of your psychiatric patients (suspected of having underlying OSA or EDS etc.), who have had a recent neuropsychological testing done, to be referred for sleep study (a PSG). See if you can correlate PSG abnormalities with specific subset impairments on neuropsychological testing

You could actually do a quick retrospective chart review on psychiatric patients (before and after medications) whether the PSG parameters have shown improvement or not with medications. Again, this can happen only if there was follow-up PSG ordered in a patient.

just thoughts!!!! Good luck

 

[Faebinder]

This might be a long task.... maybe you could get some of your psychiatric patients (suspected of having underlying OSA or EDS etc.), who have had a recent neuropsychological testing done, to be referred for sleep study (a PSG). See if you can correlate PSG abnormalities with specific subset impairments on neuropsychological testing

You could actually do a quick retrospective chart review on psychiatric patients (before and after medications) whether the PSG parameters have shown improvement or not with medications. Again, this can happen only if there was follow-up PSG ordered in a patient.

just thoughts!!!! Good luck

MMmm... pretty good idea. Three of my past publications in surgery were similar. Thanks.

 

[TheWowEffect]

MMmm... pretty good idea. Three of my past publications in surgery were similar. Thanks.

Good luck. Another idea might be to look at mood disorders from sleep point of view. It's pretty "hot" last time I checked.

 

[michaelrack]

If there's any possibility of getting free sleep studies for your research patients, you could easily do a study looking at sleep architecture alterations due to a psychiatric drug (if free sleep studies aren't available, you'd have to scrounge around to get $50,000 from a drug company, something that you may not want to do). One of the sleep docs I used to work with got funding from Jannsen to study the psg effects of risperidone. He did sleep studies on 3 subsequent nights, one with placebo, one with 1 mg, and 1 with 2 mg. This study was on normal subjects (at least that's what he told me when I was recruited as a test subject).

 

[Faebinder]

If there's any possibility of getting free sleep studies for your research patients, you could easily do a study looking at sleep architecture alterations due to a psychiatric drug (if free sleep studies aren't available, you'd have to scrounge around to get $50,000 from a drug company, something that you may not want to do). One of the sleep docs I used to work with got funding from Jannsen to study the psg effects of risperidone. He did sleep studies on 3 subsequent nights, one with placebo, one with 1 mg, and 1 with 2 mg. This study was on normal subjects (at least that's what he told me when I was recruited as a test subject).

Ahh sounds like fun, pressuring drug reps for funding for studies.. heh. Wont look good though when a study is funded by a drug company.

As for mood disorders with sleep problems... very hot. But I need some specific ideas. Assume I gather a good number of bipolars/depression with sleep studies, what would you investigate?

MMmm.. maybe I should look to see if I can distinguish between the over sleepers and the under sleepers.

 

[TheWowEffect]

Circadian rhythm disturbances are very prominent in boipolar d/o. There are actigraphy studies and a few PSG ones but many more are needed for good data. One would be to compare these parameters in bipolars and normal controls.

Another would be to compare PSG in insomniacs v/s depressed along with a normal control group. Again, there is some good data but more is certainly needed.

 

[michaelrack]

Ahh sounds like fun, pressuring drug reps for funding for studies.. heh. Wont look good though when a study is funded by a drug company.

Actually, the pharmaceutical company funding for research is out of the hands of drug reps, there are MD's and or PhD's employed by the drug companies who are responsible for the funding. But I agree that it's best to wait until after residency/fellowship to seek this source of funding.
If you are good at begging, you may be able to get your university's sleep lab to give you some free studies, in which case you could probably do research looking at the sleep architecture effect of a med for $5000 or so, which you could probably scrounge from your department.

 

[Faebinder]

Actually, the pharmaceutical company funding for research is out of the hands of drug reps, there are MD's and or PhD's employed by the drug companies who are responsible for the funding. But I agree that it's best to wait until after residency/fellowship to seek this source of funding.
If you are good at begging, you may be able to get your university's sleep lab to give you some free studies, in which case you could probably do research looking at the sleep architecture effect of a med for $5000 or so, which you could probably scrounge from your department.

Mmm... maybe an NIH sleep grant.

 

[TheWowEffect]

Mmm... maybe an NIH sleep grant.

NIH is the best way to go, although that too is becoming harder with federal cuts. If you are motivated and committed, it can work out pretty well. Sleep Foundation is another place to try.

If not that, you can always tag along with an attending who already has a huge NIH grant and could use some help. Just as a way to start.

 

[rss202]

Sleep surgery has many interesting topics that need further research. With so many new procedure available for OSA, there are many opportunities for funded research. -Rohit Soans

 

[Faebinder]

So I cooked up an interesting study (well IMO at least).... got through IRB and what not. I'm starting to get convinced that many inpatients in psych are at a high risk for a sleep disorder. I'm unsure so far what will be the biggest factor.. so far it looks to be a toss up between substance abuse and depression.