Sleep Disorders: Current Research and Future Directions

A special issue of Journal of Clinical Medicine (ISSN 2077-0383). This special issue belongs to the section "Clinical Neurology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 October 2025 | Viewed by 1600

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620, USA
Interests: narcolepsy; REM behavior disorder; parasomnia; idiopathic hypersomnia; restless legs

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sleep disorders, including sleep-related breathing disorders, insomnia, narcolepsy, REM behavior disorder, and restless legs syndrome, significantly impact public health and quality of life of many people. Despite advances in understanding their pathophysiology, many core problems remain unsolved, including precise diagnostic and monitoring methodologies, effective management options, and understanding the genetic and environmental elements that contribute to these conditions.

This Special Issue aims to consolidate cutting-edge research on sleep disorders, providing a comprehensive overview of present findings and identifying future research directions. This Special Issue will encompass original research, reviews, and clinical studies that address these challenges, with a particular focus on innovative diagnostic tools, innovative therapeutic strategies, and the role of technology in sleep disorder management. Contributions that explore the interdisciplinary aspects of sleep research, such as the interaction between neurological, psychological, and environmental factors, are also highly encouraged.

We invite researchers, clinicians, and experts in the field to contribute their work, with the scope of advancing knowledge and fostering understanding and collaboration to address the most relevant issues in sleep medicine research.

Dr. Martina Vendrame
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • obstructive sleep apnea
  • parasomnia
  • idiopathic hypersomnia
  • periodic limb movement disorder
  • periodic limb move-ment of sleep

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 1361 KiB  
Article
A Pilot Study of Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia: Sleep-Related Disorders and Neuropsychiatric Comorbidities
by Roberto A. Cardona-Quiñones, Edicer Ramírez-Rivera, Edwin Álvarez-Torres, Saidy A. Salem-Hernández, Noel J. Vargas-Pérez and Wilfredo De Jesús-Rojas
J. Clin. Med. 2025, 14(4), 1353; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14041353 - 18 Feb 2025
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Abstract
Sleep disorders are characterized by impaired quality, timing, and amount of sleep, resulting in daytime distress and functioning. Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a rare genetic condition characterized by oto-sino-pulmonary manifestations with multiple comorbidities, including sleep disorders. Background/Objectives: This pilot study aims [...] Read more.
Sleep disorders are characterized by impaired quality, timing, and amount of sleep, resulting in daytime distress and functioning. Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a rare genetic condition characterized by oto-sino-pulmonary manifestations with multiple comorbidities, including sleep disorders. Background/Objectives: This pilot study aims to assess sleep disorders and neuropsychiatric comorbidities in Puerto Rican patients with the RSPH4A (c.921+3_921+6delAAGT) PCD founder mutation. However, the literature on sleep-related disorders and their neuropsychiatric comorbidities in PCD is limited. Methods: A cohort of fifteen patients with the RSPH4A (c.921+3_921+6delAAGT) founder mutation (six pediatric, nine adults) were evaluated for sleep quality, cognitive, neurodevelopmental history, and mood-related manifestations, followed by diagnostic polysomnography for sleep-disordered breathing and other sleep-related disorder detection. Results: Twelve out of fifteen (12/15, 80%) patients presented with sleep-related disorders, particularly obstructive sleep apnea where the median Pediatric AHI was 1.25/h (IQR: 1.1–1.75/h), T < 90: 0.1 min (IQR: 0–1.9 min) and adult AHI 1.3 (IQR: 0.9–8), T < 90: 0.2 min (IQR: 0–3.5 min). PCD patients also presented complex sleep behaviors, and more than half had sleep-related movement manifestations such as sleep-related Bruxism, PLMS, among others. All pediatric patients with OSA met criteria for an anxiety disorder, with a GAD-7 of 13 (IQR: 10.5–15.8); this association was not clearly seen in adults. Conclusions: Patients with PCD RSPH4A exhibited multiple sleep and neuropsychiatric manifestations, particularly OSA, sleep-related movement disorders and complex sleep behaviors. Further studies are needed to determine if these manifestations result from obstructive breathing, sleep mechanism disruption, or other neurodevelopmental impairment associated with this ciliopathy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sleep Disorders: Current Research and Future Directions)
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8 pages, 877 KiB  
Brief Report
Psychometric Evaluation of the Polish Language Version of the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SDSC)—A Pilot Study
by Małgorzata Jączak-Goździak, Oliviero Bruni and Marcin Żarowski
J. Clin. Med. 2025, 14(7), 2458; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14072458 - 3 Apr 2025
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Abstract
Sleep disorders in children and adolescents are common, affecting approximately 25–50% of children worldwide, yet they remain insufficiently researched. These sleep abnormalities, especially during developmental stages, can lead to various consequences, including emotional and behavioral disorders, academic challenges, mood disorders, and metabolic issues [...] Read more.
Sleep disorders in children and adolescents are common, affecting approximately 25–50% of children worldwide, yet they remain insufficiently researched. These sleep abnormalities, especially during developmental stages, can lead to various consequences, including emotional and behavioral disorders, academic challenges, mood disorders, and metabolic issues such as obesity. Background/Objectives: The study aimed to psychometrically evaluate a tool for examining sleep disorders in Polish children. Methods: The study involved a randomly selected sample of 42 children, all aged 10, from two primary schools in Poland: one located in a city with over 100,000 inhabitants and the other in a smaller town. Parents were asked to complete the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SDSC) along with a sociodemographic survey. The study assessed reliability using Cronbach’s alpha (α) and evaluated the correlation between individual domains using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient (Rs). Results: The pilot group demonstrated very good internal consistency for the entire SDSC scale, with a Cronbach’s α value of 0.89, and suitable values for the individual subscales (ranging from 0.69 to 0.83). Additionally, there was a positive correlation between the individual subscales. Conclusions: While this pilot study requires validation with a larger patient group, the results suggest that the SDSC scale could be an effective tool for screening sleep disorders among Polish children. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sleep Disorders: Current Research and Future Directions)
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