Phyllis Zee

Last updated
Phyllis C. Zee
NationalityAmerican
Scientific career
FieldsNeurology
InstitutionsNorthwestern University

Phyllis C. Zee is the Benjamin and Virginia T. Boshes Professor in Neurology, the director of the Center for Circadian and Sleep Medicine (CCSM) and the chief of the Division of Sleep Medicine (neurology) at the Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago. She is also the medical director of Sleep Disorders Center at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Career

As director of CCSM, Zee oversees an interdisciplinary program in basic and translational sleep and circadian rhythm research, and findings from her team have paved the way for innovative approaches to improve sleep and circadian health. Zee is the founder of the first circadian medicine clinic in the US, where innovative treatments are available for patients with circadian rhythm disorders.

A central theme of her research program is understand the role of circadian-sleep interactions on the expression and development of cardiometabolic and neurologic disorders. Zee's research has focused on the effects of age and neurodegeneration on sleep and circadian rhythms and pathophysiology of circadian sleep-wake disorders. In addition, her laboratory is studying the effects of circadian-sleep based interventions, such as exercise, bright light and feed-fast schedules on cognitive, cardiovascular and metabolic functions and their potential to delay cardiometabolic aging and neurodegeneration. Recently her research team has also been interested in the use of acoustic and electrical neurostimulation to enhance slow wave sleep and memory in older adults.

Zee also has authored more than 300 peer reviewed original articles, reviews and chapters on the topics of sleep, circadian rhythms, and sleep/wake disorders. She has also trained over 50 pre-doctoral and post-doctoral students and has mentored numerous faculty members. Zee is a fellow of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, fellow of the American Academy of Neurology and member of the American Neurological Association. She has served on numerous national and international committees, NIH scientific review panels, and international advisory boards. She is past president of the Sleep Research Society, [4] past president of the Sleep Research Society Foundation and past chair of the NIH Sleep Disorders Research Advisory Board. Dr. Zee is a Member of the NIH National Heart Lung and Blood Advisory Council. [5] She is the recipient of the 2011 American Academy of Neurology Sleep Science Award [6] and the 2014 American Academy of Sleep Medicine academic honor, the William C. Dement Academic Achievement Award. [7]

Related Research Articles

Sleep disorder Medical disorder of the sleep patterns of a person

A sleep disorder, or somnipathy, is a medical disorder of the sleep patterns of a person. Some sleep disorders are serious enough to interfere with normal physical, mental, social and emotional functioning. Polysomnography and actigraphy are tests commonly ordered for some sleep disorders.

Delayed sleep phase disorder Chronic mismatch between a persons normal daily rhythm, compared to other people and societal norms

Delayed sleep phase disorder (DSPD), more often known as delayed sleep phase syndrome and also as delayed sleep–wake phase disorder, is a chronic dysregulation of a person's circadian rhythm, compared to those of the general population and societal norms. The disorder affects the timing of sleep, peak period of alertness, the core body temperature, rhythm, hormonal as well as other daily cycles. People with DSPD generally fall asleep some hours after midnight and have difficulty waking up in the morning. People with DSPD probably have a circadian period significantly longer than 24 hours. Depending on the severity, the symptoms can be managed to a greater or lesser degree, but no cure is known, and research suggests a genetic origin for the disorder.

Advanced Sleep Phase Disorder (ASPD), also known as the advanced sleep-phase type (ASPT) of circadian rhythm sleep disorder, is a condition that is characterized by a recurrent pattern of early evening sleepiness and early morning awakening. This sleep phase advancement can interfere with daily social and work schedules, and results in shortened sleep duration and excessive daytime sleepiness. The timing of sleep and melatonin levels are regulated by the body's central circadian clock, which is located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus in the hypothalamus.

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) is the third largest Institute of the National Institutes of Health, located in Bethesda, Maryland, United States. It is tasked with allocating about $3.6 billion in FY 2020 in tax revenue to advancing the understanding of the following issues: development and progression of disease, diagnosis of disease, treatment of disease, disease prevention, reduction of health care disparities within the American population, and advancing the effectiveness of the US medical system. NHLBI's Director is Gary H. Gibbons (2012–present).

In chronotherapy, an attempt is made to move bedtime and rising time later and later each day, around the clock, until a person is sleeping on a normal schedule. This treatment can be used by people with delayed sleep phase disorder (DSWPD), who generally cannot reset their circadian rhythm by moving their bedtime and rising time earlier. DSWPD is a circadian rhythm sleep disorder, characterised by a mismatch between a person's internal biological clock and societal norms. Chronotherapy uses the human phase response to light or melatonin. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine has recommended chronotherapy for the treatment of circadian rhythm and sleep disorders.

Non-24-hour sleep–wake disorder is one of several chronic circadian rhythm sleep disorders (CRSDs). It is defined as a "chronic steady pattern comprising [...] daily delays in sleep onset and wake times in an individual living in a society". Symptoms result when the non-entrained (free-running) endogenous circadian rhythm drifts out of alignment with the light–dark cycle in nature. Although this sleep disorder is more common in blind people, affecting up to 70% of the totally blind, it can also affect sighted people. Non-24 may also be comorbid with bipolar disorder, depression, and traumatic brain injury. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) has provided CRSD guidelines since 2007 with the latest update released in 2015.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) is a United States professional society for the medical subspecialty of sleep medicine which includes disorders of circadian rhythms. It was established in 1975.

Circadian rhythm sleep disorders (CRSD), also known as circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders (CRSWD), are a family of sleep disorders which affect the timing of sleep. CRSDs arise from a persistent pattern of sleep/wake disturbances that can be caused either by dysfunction in one's biological clock system, or by misalignment between one's endogenous oscillator and externally imposed cues. As a result of this mismatch, those affected by circadian rhythm sleep disorders have a tendency to fall asleep at unconventional time points in the day. These occurrences often lead to recurring instances of disturbed rest, where individuals affected by the disorder are unable to go to sleep and awaken at "normal" times for work, school, and other social obligations. Delayed sleep phase disorder, advanced sleep phase disorder, non-24-hour sleep–wake disorder and irregular sleep–wake rhythm disorder represents the four main types of CRSD.

The International Classification of Sleep Disorders (ICSD) is "a primary diagnostic, epidemiological and coding resource for clinicians and researchers in the field of sleep and sleep medicine". The ICSD was produced by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) in association with the European Sleep Research Society, the Japanese Society of Sleep Research, and the Latin American Sleep Society. The classification was developed as a revision and update of the Diagnostic Classification of Sleep and Arousal Disorders (DCSAD) that was produced by both the Association of Sleep Disorders Centers (ASDC) and the Association for the Psychophysiological Study of Sleep and was published in the journal Sleep in 1979. A second edition, called ICSD-2, was published by the AASM in 2005. The third edition, ICSD-3, was released by the AASM in 2014.

Sleep medicine Medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis and therapy of sleep disturbances and disorders

Sleep medicine is a medical specialty or subspecialty devoted to the diagnosis and therapy of sleep disturbances and disorders. From the middle of the 20th century, research has provided increasing knowledge and answered many questions about sleep-wake functioning. The rapidly evolving field has become a recognized medical subspecialty in some countries. Dental sleep medicine also qualifies for board certification in some countries. Properly organized, minimum 12-month, postgraduate training programs are still being defined in the United States. In some countries, the sleep researchers and the physicians who treat patients may be the same people.

Allan Rechtschaffen is a noted pioneer in the field of sleep research whose work includes some of the first laboratory studies of insomnia, narcolepsy, sleep apnea, and napping. He received his PhD from Northwestern University in 1956.

Sleep study Sleep Medicine

A sleep study is a test that records the activity of the body during sleep. There are five main types of sleep studies that use different methods to test for different sleep characteristics and disorders. These include simple sleep studies, polysomnography, multiple sleep latency tests (MSLTs), maintenance of wakefulness tests (MWTs), and home sleep tests (HSTs). In medicine, sleep studies have been useful in identifying and ruling out various sleep disorders. Sleep studies have also been valuable to psychology, in which they have provided insight into brain activity and the other physiological factors of both sleep disorders and normal sleep. This has allowed further research to be done on the relationship between sleep and behavioral and psychological factors.

Irregular sleep–wake rhythm is a rare form of circadian rhythm sleep disorder. It is characterized by numerous naps throughout the 24-hour period, no main nighttime sleep episode and irregularity from day to day. Sufferers have no pattern of when they are awake or asleep, may have poor quality sleep, and often may be very sleepy while they are awake. The total time asleep per 24 hours is normal for the person's age. The disorder is serious—an invisible disability. It can create social, familial, and work problems, making it hard for a person to maintain relationships and responsibilities, and may make a person home-bound and isolated.

The Sleep Research Society (SRS) is an organization that promotes the science of sleep and related disorders. Additionally, the SRS is dedicated to the training and education of future sleep researchers.

Robert Leroy Sack is an American physician and researcher specializing in sleep medicine. He is certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and the American Board of Sleep Disorders Medicine. On the faculty of the Oregon Health & Science University since 1977, he is the medical director of its Clinical Sleep Disorders Medicine Program which he developed parallel with his research on circadian rhythms.

Charles Czeisler

Charles A. Czeisler is an American physician and sleep researcher. He is a researcher and author in the fields of both circadian rhythms and sleep medicine.

Fred W. Turek

Fred W. Turek is the Director of the Center for Sleep & Circadian Biology and the Charles E. & Emma H. Morrison Professor of Biology in the Department of Neurobiology, both at Northwestern University. Turek received his Ph.D from Stanford University. He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1991.

Clete Anthony Kushida is a sleep medicine clinician and sleep scientist, a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Stanford University Medical Center, medical director of the Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic, and Director of the Stanford University Center for Human Sleep Research.

Adrian R. Morrison was the 1991 AAAS Scientific Freedom and Responsibility Award recipient.

References

  1. "Phyllis C Zee, MD, PhD: Faculty Profile: Feinberg School of Medicine: Northwestern University". www.feinberg.northwestern.edu.
  2. Medicine, Northwestern. "Phyllis C. Zee, MD, PhD". Northwestern Medicine.
  3. Zee, Phyllis C. "New Therapies for Insomnia: An Expert Interview With Phyllis C. Zee, MD, PhD". Medscape (Interview).
  4. "Past Sleep Research Society Presidents - SRS History". www.sleepresearchsociety.org. Retrieved 2018-01-16.
  5. "National Heart, Lung, and Blood Advisory Council | National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)". www.nhlbi.nih.gov. Retrieved 2018-01-16.
  6. "Awards History". www.aan.com. Retrieved 2018-01-16.
  7. "AASM congratulates 2014 award recipients - American Academy of Sleep Medicine – Association for Sleep Clinicians and Researchers". aasm.org. Retrieved 2018-01-16.