Research News 

NHLBI announces intent to publish FOA for novel point-of-care technology The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute posted a notice (NOT-HL-13-177) of its intent to publish a new Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) that will encourage applications for research in support of the development of novel point-of-care (POC) and implementation of existing technologies specifically for practical clinical applications that can guide diagnostic and therapeutic efforts in the heart, lung, blood, and sleep clinical research settings.

Short sleep duration and sleep apnea linked to increased abdominal fat A new study reports that a habitual short sleep duration of less than five hours and obstructive sleep apnea are independently associated with abdominal visceral fat in Korean adults.

Report finds increase in emergency department visits related to zolpidem A report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) indicates that the number of emergency department visits involving adverse reactions to the sleep medication zolpidem rose nearly 220 percent from 2005 to 2010.

Study finds improved neurobehavioral performance during the wake maintenance zone A new study found that performance was significantly improved, despite a longer time awake, in the wake maintenance zone, a three-hour window of reduced sleep propensity that occurs shortly before the onset of melatonin secretion.

CDC data show that self-reported hypertension is on the rise On April 5 the CDC reported that from 2005 to 2009, the prevalence of self-reported hypertension among U.S. adults increased from 25.8 to 28.3 percent. Among those with self-reported hypertension, use of antihypertensive medications increased from 61.1 to 62.6 percent.