NHLBI Funds Study of Therapy for Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome

In September 2002, the NHLBI awarded $14 million to Stanford University for a 5-year clinical trial to determine the efficacy of nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) in treating sleep apnea. Although CPAP therapy is the primary treatment for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), a sleep-related breathing disorder affecting more than 15 million Americans, this is the first large, population-based, randomized clinical trial of long-term CPAP efficacy conducted in the United States. The researchers, led by Dr. William Dement, will assess the long-term effect of CPAP therapy on neurocognitive function, mood, sleepiness, and quality of life; look for specific neurocognitive deficits associated with OSAS in a large, heterogeneous subject population; and determine which deficits in neurocognitive function are reversible and most sensitive to the effects of CPAP.

Spotlight on Our Web Site

MEDLINEplus “en Español” - Popular NIH Web Site Now Available in Spanish

If someone contacted your group for health information in Spanish, would you be able to help them? Finding credible medical information in Spanish on the Web is easier than you might think, thanks to a new feature added to MEDLINEplus.gov, the National Library of Medicine's consumer-friendly health Web site. Not only does MEDLINEplus.gov provide credible medical information in both English and Spanish, but a click on the "Español" link on any English MEDLINEplus.gov page takes the user to its corresponding Spanish page.

"A primary part of NIH's mission is to translate medical advances into health information that the public can use," said Dr. Elias A. Zerhouni, NIH Director. "Making MEDLINEplus information available in Spanish greatly expands NIH's ability to carry out its mission to communicate with the public."

MEDLINEplus and MEDLINEplus “en Español” are available free of charge 24 hours a day. Links to hundreds of topics point users to information from the NIH and other federal agencies, professional medical associations, and health-related organizations. On the medical encyclopedia pages, full-color illustrations and photographs accompany over 4,000 articles on diseases, injuries, tests, and surgeries. The interactive health tutorials -- narrated guides to various health topics -- use animated illustrations and plain language to describe medical procedures, surgeries, and the symptoms and effects of diseases.

Materials Available to Increase Public Awareness of Heart Attack Signs

Now it is even easier to educate your community about the need to act fast when someone may be having a heart attack. As part of the National Heart Attack Alert Program's Act in Time to Heart Attack Signs campaign, the NHLBI has produced a Small Group Session Lesson Plan, which includes talking points, reproducible handouts, overhead masters, tips on how to organize and publicize, and more. It can be used for talks at a senior centers, hospitals, churches, adult education classes, worksite health and safety meetings, or community groups. Lesson plan materials, brochures, wallet cards, and a 13-minute video may be ordered by visiting www.nhlbi.nih.gov/actintime.

New NHLBI Research Initiatives

From time to time, the NHLBI invites investigators to submit grant applications or contract proposals for specific research programs. We are currently soliciting applications for the following programs. For a full details of these and other research initiatives, visit www.nhlbi.nih.gov/funding/inits/index.htm or the Web page that is linked each initiative number.

Ancillary Pharmacogenetics Studies in Heart, Lung, Blood, and Sleep Disorders

• Initiative Number: RFA-HL-03-001
• Applications are due January 14, 2003.
• Objectives: To support collection of DNA from current study participants and the use of these or existing resources for studies of genetic influences on inter-individual differences in prescription drug response.

Animal Models of Organ-specific Tolerance for Heart and Lung Transplantation

• Initiative Number: PA-02-044
• Applications are accepted for February 1, June 1, and October 1 deadlines each year.
• Objectives: To encourage protocol development using large animal models for heart transplantation and both large and small animal models for lung transplantation.

Biobehavioral Research for Effective Sleep

• Initiative Number: PA-00-046
• Applications are accepted for February 1, June 1, and October 1 deadlines each year.
• Objectives: To understand the behavioral, psychosocial and physiological consequences of acute and chronic partial sleep deprivation and to develop interventions to reduce sleep disturbances.

Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Primary Pulmonary Hypertension

• Initiative Number: PA-00-043
• Applications are accepted for February 1, June 1, and October 1 deadlines each year.
• Objectives: To elucidate the mechanisms involved in the unique vascular remodeling that characterizes PPH and in the regulation of vascular tone during its development.

Clinical Research in Peripheral Arterial Disease

• Initiative Number: RFA-HL-03-003
• Applications are due February 26, 2003.
• Objectives: To develop therapeutic and preventive approaches for atherosclerotic arterial diseases of the peripheral vasculature.

Coordination of Vascularization and Lung Development

• Initiative Number: RFA-HL-03-006
• Applications are due March 19, 2003.
• Objectives: To understand the mechanisms that coordinate the formation of the lung and its vasculature during normal development or that contribute to arrested or aberrant lung development.

Functional Heterogeneity of the Peripheral, Pulmonary and Lymphatic Vessels

• Initiative Number: RFA-HL-03-004
• Applications are due February 14, 2003.
• Objectives: To understand the mechanisms that contribute to functional differences in adult peripheral, pulmonary, and lymphatic vessels.

Functional Tissue Engineering for Heart, Vascular, Lung, Blood, and Sleep Disorders and Diseases

• Initiative Number: PAR-01-006
• Phase II applications are accepted for the following deadlines: March 13, 2003 and March 12, 2004.
• Objectives: To stimulate development of biological substitutes for damaged tissues and organs.

Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) Cardiovascular Toxicities

• Initiative Number: RFA-HL-02-028
• Applications are due February 19, 2003.
• Objectives: To determine how protease and reverse transcriptase inhibitors affect cardiovascular disease development.

Pathogenesis and Treatment of Lymphedema

• Initiative Number: PA-01-035
• Applications are accepted for February 1, June 1, and October 1 deadlines each year.
• Objectives: To stimulate research on the biology of the lymphatic system, the underlying developmental, cellular, and molecular mechanisms that cause lymphedema, and new therapies for patients with lymphedema.

Pathophysiology and Treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)

• Initiative Number: PA-02-034
• Applications are accepted for February 1, June 1, and October 1 deadlines each year.
• Objectives: To understand CFS pathogenesis and pathophysiology with the goal of improving diagnostic and intervention strategies.

Research on Ethical Issues in Human Studies

• Initiative Number: PA-02-103
• Applications are accepted for February 1, June 1, and October 1 deadlines each year.
• Objectives: To encourage research on the ethical challenges of involving human participants in research in order to improve protections for human participation in research.

Restless Legs Syndrome and Periodic Limb Movement Disorder

• Initiative Number: PA-01-086
• Applications are accepted for February 1, June 1, and October 1 deadlines each year.
• Objectives: To enhance understanding of and develop treatments for restless legs syndrome and periodic limb movement disorder.

Role of Sleep and Sleep-Disordered Breathing in Metabolic Syndrome

• Initiative Number: RFA-HL-03-008
• Applications are due February 11, 2003.
• Objectives: To elucidate the relationship of sleep deprivation and sleep-disordered breathing to characteristics of the metabolic syndrome including obesity, high blood pressure, dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, and vascular inflammation.

Specialized Centers of Clinically Oriented Research (SCCOR) in Cardiac Dysfunction and Disease

• Initiative Number: RFA-HL-03-009
• Applications are due September 11, 2003.
• Objectives: To stimulate clinically relevant, multidisciplinary collaborations leading to clinical and basic science research efforts on important public health problems for individuals with heart diseases.

Specialized Centers of Clinically Oriented Research (SCCOR) in Pediatric Heart Development and Disease

• Initiative Number: RFA-HL-02-027
• Applications are due January 16, 2003.
• Objectives: To stimulate research that will aid in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of congenital cardiovascular malformations, pediatric arrhythmias, conduction disturbances, disorders of myocardial function, and acquired pediatric cardiac diseases.

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For health related questions and publications, please contact the trained information specialists at the NHLBI Information Center.