Raman Malhotra, MD: Lasting Challenges in Sleep Medicine

“What’s been so exciting in the state of sleep medicine is we’ve had technology and innovation breakthroughs that are allowing us to learn more about sleep in our patients, including patients’ sleep at home.”

Over the past couple of years, the state of care in sleep medicine has been bolstered by a number of critical advances that have been made. Of course, the approval of a number of novel treatments has made a positive impact, but particularly, technological steps forward have allowed for a drastic overhaul in how—and where—sleep can be measured.

For Raman Malhotra, MD, associate professor of neurology, Washington University in St. Louis, and board of directors, American Academy of Sleep Medicine, the ability to measure patients’ sleep in their own homes has been a great step forward for the field. As well, in this interview with NeurologyLive, he cited that the improved awareness and education around sleep’s impact on health, in general, has been excellent.

Although, these advances have not left every stone unturned, as a number of challenges remain unaddressed. Malhotra expanded on some of these, exploring the obstacles in providing proper care for patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and adherence to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), as well as touching on the lack of objective measures for daytime sleepiness.