Preface I

The field of sleep medicine has gone through tremendous evolution since the discovery of REM sleep in 1953 and remarkable research in recent years has led to multiple advances in sleep medicine. Among the most important improvements are the approval of the new medication for treating excessive daytime sleepiness in patients with obstructive sleep apnea and narcolepsy, treatment of central sleep apnea with phrenic nerve stimulation, treatment of obstructive sleep apnea with hypoglossal nerve stimulation, and emerging evidence on possible medication treatment of obstructive sleep apnea. These are exciting times in the field of sleep medicine, which is now a specialty in its own right. Technological advances are helping us break down diagnoses (e.g., further differentiating Narcolepsy into Type 1 and Type) and lead to novel ways of home sleep apnea testing (like peripheral arterial tonometry) and computerized interpretation of home sleep studies. We have potential tools in some areas of sleep medicine, such as obstructive sleep apnea, that can be used as part of a strategy for deep phenotyping of patients in precision medicine. Not only that, areas such as chronic insomnia and restless legs syndrome show promise for precision medicine application, especially after the identification of genetic markers and application of our understanding of the pharmacogenetics of commonly used medications in sleep medicine. Undoubtedly, much greater progress will be made in the coming years. We believe that the contributions of this book authored by international and respected experts will be useful to the respiratory and sleep medicine clinicians, whose efforts are still needed in treating and improving the quality and length of life in patients with complex sleep disorders.