Primary and secondary insomnia -- Primary insomnia: diagnosis and treatment -- Neuropharmacology of obstructive sleep apnea and central apnea -- Narcolepsy syndrome: a new view at the beginning of the second millennium -- Sleep disturbances in restless legs syndrome (RLS) and periodic limb movements (PLM) -- Sleep disturbances in anxiety disorders -- Sleep disturbances in affective disorders -- Sleep disturbance in schizophrenia -- Clinical pharmacology of sleep disturbances in children and adolescents -- Assessment and treatment of sleep disturbances in aged population -- Sleep disturbances in Alzheimer’s disease -- Sleep disturbance during menopause -- Chronopharmacology and its implications to the pharmacology of sleep -- Overview of currently available benzodiazepine and nonbenzodiazepine hypnotics -- Rebound and withdrawal with benzodiazepine and non-benzodiazepine hypnotic medication.

The field of sleep medicine is growing rapidly, and the clinical pharmacology of sleep is gaining much attention from sleep physicians. Many new drugs are in the process of being developed and tested for their possible usefulness in the treatment of sleep disorders. The opportunity for further advancement in this field is very promising. This volume covers the clinical and pharmacological treatment of several important sleep disorders such as insomnia, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, restless legs syndrome, and periodic limb movement syndrome. It further addresses the use of sleep medications in children, adolescents, and in the elderly. It offers a comprehensive overview of the currently available hypnotic medications and covers aspects of chronopharmacology and its implications for the pharmacology of sleep. It also reviews the basic science of sleep and sleep disorders, and thus the potential development of new pharmacological approaches. The book will be useful for physicians, psychopharmacologists, psychiatrists, sleep disorder specialists and other healthcare professionals such as nurses, social workers and graduate medical students.