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Traumatic brain injury (TBI) disrupts normal brain function and can lead to chronic symptoms of sleep disturbance, pain, irritability, and depression. Sleep disorders occur in 30-70% of individuals who have experienced TBI. Disturbed sleep impairs the recovery process and may exacerbate other issues that arise because of brain injury (e.g., headaches, depression). Noticeable benefits have been reported when sleep problems due to TBI are addressed and treated; for instance, treating post-TBI insomnia reduces the expression of inflammatory genes, potentially reducing ongoing neurological damage. In this review, we discuss twenty-four randomised clinical trials (RCT) published to date (August 2021), exploring interventions for sleep disturbances resulting from TBI. Treatment effects were observed for insomnia, circadian rhythm disorders, hypersomnia, and general sleep disturbance. However, the evidence remains limited and significant methodological issues are discussed with a recommendation for further research., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Melatonin is a physiological hormone involved in sleep timing and is currently used exogenously in the treatment of primary and secondary sleep disorders with empirical evidence of efficacy, but very little evidence from randomised, controlled studies. The aim of this meta-analysis was to assess the evidence base for the therapeutic effects of exogenous melatonin in treating primary sleep disorders. An electronic literature review search of MEDLINE (1950-present) Embase (1980- present), PsycINFO (1987- present), and Scopus (1990- present), along with a hand-searching of key journals was performed in July 2013 and then again in May 2015. This identified all studies that compared the effect of exogenous melatonin and placebo in patients with primary insomnia, delayed sleep phase syndrome, non 24-h sleep wake syndrome in people who are blind, and rapid eye movement-behaviour disorder. Meta-analyses were performed to determine the magnitude of effect in studies of melatonin in improving sleep. A total of 5030 studies were identified; of these citations, 12 were included for review based on the inclusion criteria of being: double or single-blind, randomised and controlled. Results from the meta-analyses showed the most convincing evidence for exogenous melatonin use was in reducing sleep onset latency in primary insomnia (p = 0.002), delayed sleep phase syndrome (p < 0.0001), and regulating the sleep-wake patterns in blind patients compared with placebo. These findings highlight the potential importance of melatonin in treating certain first degree sleep disorders. The development of large-scale, randomised, controlled trials is recommended to provide further evidence for therapeutic use of melatonin in a variety of sleep difficulties., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This review is aimed at summarizing the current state of knowledge regarding parasomnias, which have been implicated in medicolegal cases as well as providing guidance to those working within common-law jurisdictions regarding the technical aspects of the law. Sleepwalking and sexsomnia as a defence are being raised more frequently in criminal cases and there has been public debate on their validity. Unfortunately, expert evidence on forensic sleep disorders continues to be heavily opinion-based with the potential for miscarriages of justice seen in recent highly publicized cases. There is an apparent inertia in research into violent sleep disorders. We review the current state of forensic sleep science in the United Kingdom (UK) and abroad and discuss the need to formulate guidelines based on available evidence. We also highlight the pressing necessity for more research in this area as well as the need to reform the law, which is the subject of a recent Criminal Law Commission report in the United Kingdom. In time, this will facilitate the efficient, proportionate, and just disposal of violence arising from sleep, thus benefitting both society and the individual sufferer., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The process of photoentrainment, through the activation of photoreceptor transduction cascades, influences the circadian physiology of many life forms from primitive invertebrates to primates. In humans, a population of intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGC's) is responsible for mediating the circadian rhythm and is susceptible to primary dysfunction affecting this cell population specifically, or disorders influencing light activation of retinal ganglion photoreceptors. The former may arise through cell depletion in conditions such as inherited or acquired optic neuropathies or conditions like Parkinson's disease which may alter retinal dopamine-mediated neurotransmission, and the latter, secondary to common causes of light transmission reduction associated with ageing and cataract. This review examines the current evidence linking ocular pathology and the resultant reduction in retinal phototransduction with circadian disturbances and sleep disorders, with downstream effects on our overall physiological integrity. As our understanding of the effects of light pathways on circadian biology develops, therapeutic modalities based upon the underlying pathophysiological processes are emerging, although the direct measurement, consequences and treatment of relative or absolute ipRGC dysfunction remain to be fully and clearly elucidated in man., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Sleep deprivation has been shown to have detrimental effects on behavioural, physiological and psychological functioning. Skin disorders are variably associated with sleep disturbance and sleep deprivation, some associated with specific sleep disorders such as obstructive sleep apnoea. Paradoxically, there is very little literature focussed on the management of sleep problems in the context of skin disorders. Furthermore, randomised controlled trials of treatments for skin conditions are few and rarely measure sleep as an outcome, either subjectively or objectively. This review focuses on common skin disorders and how they affect sleep., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Though it has long been recognised that there is a hereditary component to the obstructive sleep apnoea/hypopnoea syndrome (OSAHS), identifying its genetic basis remains elusive. Hypertension and metabolic syndrome, like OSAHS, are polygenic disorders, physiologically complex and the product of highly organised, hierarchical systems within the body. Elucidating their genetic basis is difficult when they are considered in isolation but even more difficult if their interrelationships with each other are brought into play. Not least of the problems is the lack of adequate and consistent phenotyping, which has hampered genetic dissection of these diseases; in addition, sleep-disordered breathing has not been factored into most studies dealing with essential hypertension or metabolic syndrome. Genome-wide scans have yielded inconsistent results in all three disorders under discussion and candidate gene studies of possible regulatory molecules require more rigorous replication. One approach would be to use 'intermediate' phenotypes and dense mapping of candidate genes for identifying genotype-phenotype correlations. This review focuses on genetic factors, which may be responsible for the expression of cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome in the context of OSAHS.