Dogs can help wake sleepy patients on public transport

Dec. 13, 2012 — Researchers in Belgium show how dogs can help patients with severe sleep problems, in an article on bmj.com.

They describe a 35 year old patient with severe excessive daytime sleepiness. She suffered sleep attacks up to six times a day and sometimes slept up to 16 hours a day.

Until recently, this severe sleepiness considerably hampered her social life and limited her use of public transport, as she usually fell asleep within a few minutes of sitting down.

She'd then wake up at the end of the line and have to fight sleepiness on the way back. Sometimes she'd forget where she started from.

Medication had only a limited effect, so the patient was put in contact with a charity that provides trained dogs for people with visual or hearing impairment.

A dog was first trained to wake the patient in the morning at the sound of an alarm clock, even if this sometimes required 30 minutes of gentle biting. The dog then learnt to wake the patient at the sound of the mobile phone ringing. Eventually, he learnt to wake her up, if necessary, at every metro, tram, or bus station.

This animal companionship has allowed our patient to move around the city efficiently and carry on a social life, say the authors. "The intervention could benefit other patients with similarly extreme and treatment resistant daytime sleepiness," they conclude.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by BMJ-British Medical Journal.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Journal Reference:

O. L. Bon, P. Linkowski. A shaggy dog story. BMJ, 2012; 345 (dec13 8): e7751 DOI: 10.1136/bmj.e7751

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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

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What should be done about the wolves at Isle Royale National Park, U.S.?

Nov. 16, 2012 — The number of wolves at Isle Royale National Park has dipped to nine -- the lowest seen since Michigan Technological University's wolf-moose predator-prey study began 54 years ago. What should be done if this furry icon of wilderness culture dies out altogether?

Michigan Tech researchers John Vucetich and Rolf Peterson and Michigan State University environmental ethicist Michael Nelson are willing to tackle this controversial subject.

The issue is a prickly one because there is conflict among environmentalists and ethicists about how we should -- or should not -- relate to nature and the environment. Some say, "let nature take its course." Others believe humans should work to maintain ecosystem health, and that may on some occasions require intervention.

"The appropriate approach is to acknowledge and understand all the values at stake, and then develop a perspective or position that would least infringe upon that set of values," say Vucetich, Peterson and Nelson.

There are three possible kinds of intervention that could save the wolves of Isle Royale:

* Wolf reintroduction -- reintroducing wolves if the present wolf population were to go extinct.

* Female reintroduction -- reintroducing female wolves when all present females have gone extinct.

* Genetic rescue -- introducing new wolves on Isle Royale while some of the present population remains, to broaden and strengthen the gene pool.

If the wolves are allowed to go extinct, the moose population on the remote island will grow unimpeded, until the moose strip the island of its vegetation and eventually, starve.

"The bottom line is, as long as there are moose there, keep the wolves there," says Vucetich.

"All things considered, if the wolves go to extinction, reintroduce them," Peterson concludes.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Michigan Technological University. The original article was written by Jennifer Donovan.

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