Impaired sleep
affects your
uality of life
Meet one of the faces of success
Thomas Roth, Ph.D., director,
Sleep Disorders and Research
Center at Henry Ford Hospital, is
a board-certified specialist in sleep
medicine, and a member of the
Henry Ford Medical Group.
Emery Weiss
puts a donation
in the FAAN
collection box
at Hillel Day
School.
L ,
K
SheIli Liebman Dorfman
Staff Writer
vowing firsthand the daily
fears and concerns involved
for those with life-threaten-
ing food allergies, Ellyn Weiss of West
Bloomfield became an organizer of
this month's first annual Michigan-
based Walk for Food Allergies
— Moving toward a Cure.
With more than 12 million
Americans suffering from food aller-
gies — including Weiss and her 10-
year-old son Emery — the walk could
affect many.
"It's so important to come walk:'
Weiss said. "Food allergy-related
deaths (of which there are 150-200
each year) can be reduced with educa-
tion and awareness."
Weiss and Emery will participate
in the walk on Emery's Stanley Cup
Team, along with Weiss' husband,
Mark and their other son, Andrew, 6.
Sponsored by the Food Allergy and
Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN), the
walk will begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday,
Aug. 26 at Kensington Metropark in
Milford.
One in 17 children younger than 3
and three million school-aged chil-
dren are affected by food allergies. In
the U.S., 90 percent of food allergy
reactions come from milk, eggs, pea-
nuts, tree nuts, wheat, soy, fish and
shellfish.
With no cure and no treatment,
only complete avoidance of the aller-
gy-causing food can prevent a reac-
tion. So kids with food allergies often
need to rely on the consideration and
care of others.
This summer — and the last
three — Emery attended the Jewish
Community Center's day camp, which
is a 'peanut sensitive' camp.
"We watch to make sure kids are
not bringing peanut butter or any-
thing else containing nuts in their
lunches," said Center Day Camps
director, Forest Levy, who also serves
as youth services director at the
Center. "All of our staff is trained in
CPR and first aid so everyone is pre-
pared to do what we need to keep all
of our campers safe."
Last spring, Emery spearheaded
a fundraising event with classmates
at Hillel Day School of Metropolitan
Detroit, collecting $150 in donations
toward the walk. And through his own
Website, he has received an additional
$2,200 in donations.
Events surrounding the walk, spon-
sored by SupplyDen of Rochester
Hills, include music by D.J. John Leen,
who, himself, has life-threatening food
allergies and an appearance by PBS
Kids animated series star, Arthur. Ken
Daniels, Detroit Red Wings play-by-
play TV announcer — who is allergic
to walnuts and almonds — will serve
as celebrity chairperson.
Levy hopes the walk will be a place
to learn. "It's through events such as
this that important and life-saving
messages can be shared, making peo-
ple more cognizant of food allergies
and the risks they present:' he said.
For information or to register for
the 9 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 26, Walk for
Food Allergies — Moving toward a
Cure, access the Web site at
www.foodallergy.org or call (800) 929-
4040. To make a donation through
Emery's Stanley cup team, go to
firstgiving.com/weiss.
A graduate of Yeshiva University
High School and City College in
New York City, Dr. Roth's work in
the dream lab at the University of
Cincinnati Medical School in the
late 1960s led to his lifelong
enthusiasm with the field of sleep
medicine.
He has been working in sleep med-
icine departments since 1970.
When he started the sleep lab at
Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit in
1978, it was the first sleep center in
Southeast Michigan, and one of the
first in the United States.
"We have been pioneers in this
field, seeing 3,000 patients a year,"
he says.
"Henry Ford's Sleep Disorders
and Research Center is a leader in
studying insomnia, discovering
that nearly 30 percent of shift
workers have this disorder. We
are working to discover the brain
abnormality that makes some
people vulnerable to insomnia,
while others are unaffected."
Insomnia is more than just an
occasional night of disturbed sleep.
Dr. Roth stresses that the diagnosis
of insomnia is made after consider-
ing the factors of frequency,
duration, severity, chronicity and
consequences of sleep deprivation.
The sleep center has recently
published a study on insomnia's
relationship to depressive disor-
ders. Dr. Roth notes that insomnia
is a major risk factor for future
depression. Developing insomnia
overtime is another risk factor for
depression.
Other recent studies that the
center has published involve treat-
ing insomnia for a better response
to depression medications, and
the link between sleep loss and
increased sensitivity to pain.
sees patients
with sleep
apnea, restless
legs syndrome
(RLS),
narcolepsy,
and other
disorders.
People need an
average of eight
hours of sleep a
night. With
only six hours of sleep, the doctor
notes, there is a demonstrable
impairment in alertness.
"We spend a third of our lives
sleeping," says Dr. Roth. "When
that vital function is impaired, it
can ruin the part of our lives when
we're awake.
"I had a patient many years ago
with narcolepsy," he recalls. "His
symptoms included a loss of mus-
cle tone in emotional situations.
Due to these symptoms, he had
chosen to miss his daughter's wed-
ding, so that his illness would not
mar the ceremony. I was able to
help him with proper medication;
however, if he had come to see me
before the wedding, these drugs
would have allowed him to be there
for such an important family event.
Unfortunately, he didn't know that
his symptoms could be controlled."
Dr. Roth stressed that medications
and treatments, including assisted
breathing devices or surgery for
sleep apnea, have proved to be very
beneficial to those experiencing
sleep disorders.
"Our center is a leader in evaluat-
ing the safety and effectiveness of
medications used to promote
sleep," he says. "Medications for
treating insomnia have been great-
ly improved over the years. People
who are struggling with this
disorder should not avoid seeking
treatment."
He and his wife are residents of
Northville. They have four adult
children.
While insomnia is the most com-
mon sleep disorder, the center also
For more information or to make an
appointment call 1-Boo-HENRYFORD or
visit our Web site www.henryford.com
H EALTH SYSTEM
August 17
6
2006
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