fin review buy recommendation, page-15

buy recommendations yet the share price isnt rising but falling. when market sentiment returns expect som to outperform imo.

sleep apnea still a hugh market opportunity. currently dominated by cpap but people are turned off by using cpap and their noisey machines/ air hose/face mask.

Somnomed's oral device relatively unknown will definetly serve a larger market than it currently has for quite some time.

cheers



Five things you need to know about obstructive sleep apnea
BY DESONTA HOLDER

McClatchy Newspapers

1. What is it:

This common disorder occurs when throat muscles relax and cause breathing to repeatedly stop or become very shallow.
Breathing pauses can last from a few seconds to minutes and
occur up to 30 times an hour. After a pause, normal breathing may resume with a loud snort or choking sound. SuEerers often snore loudly. A University of Wisconsin study published this month shows that over an 18-year period, people with severe, untreated sleep apnea died at a rate more than three times that of those without apnea.

2. Risk factors: These include being male, overweight and older than 40, although sleep apnea can strike anyone at any age, even children. Smokers and those with hypertension are also at risk.

3. Consequences:

Sleep apnea can result in severe daytime drowsiness,
fatigue and irritability. It may also be responsible for automobile crashes and job impairment.

4. Treatments: A CPAP machine delivers air pressure through a mask placed over your nose while you sleep to keep your upper airway passages open. Oral appliances can also keep your airway passages open. Surgery may be necessary to remove excess tissue from your throat. Losing weight would be helpful.

5. Case report:

In 2006, the journal European Archives of Oto-
Rhino-Laryngology included a report on a 40-year-old male with obstructive sleep apnea symptoms—respiratory disturbances, excessive daytime drowsiness and morning headaches. A CT exam showed a huge benign brain tumor. The tumor was removed and the sleep apnea symptoms improved.

-- Web Editor Jason Collington

Reader responses

(8/21/2008 12:42:21 PM)

Apnea diagnoses skyrocketed by local docs in South Tulsa after St Frankie opened a sleep clinic a couple of years back. I probably have it. I snore so loud that I used to wake up camping cub scouts, sounding like a hungry bear in the woods. But I'm not interested in being strapped to tanks and machines every time I take a nap. I'm also not interested in letting my group medical insurer be dunned huge fees over this dubious, suspiciously treatment centered disorder. Some of these medical bits just sound silly to me. How about you?

(8/21/2008 1:23:55 PM)

My father-n-law has this. He also has the machine. He says the machine is very loud and keeps him awake some. My mother-n-law says there are some nights when he takes the mask off when he is asleep. It has helped, when he has it on....

(8/21/2008 4:47:17 PM)

I have been diagnosed with sleep apnea after doing a sleep study @ Saint Francis (BA) years ago. It's not quack science and there are many people out there that have it due to various reasons. Mine was due mainly to my weight at the time.

The machine(s) are cumbersome. I had all the components, including the bulky face mask. In the end I couldn't stand having the mask attached to my face when I slept and kept tearing it off. Saint Francis actually offers a support group to aid people with sleep apnea and overcome most problems. Before I could ever attend one of the meetings, my insurance stopped paying for my machine and additional care.

Long story short... Sleep apnea is a serious medical condition, although most people just think snoring is 'just part of life'. It's a good idea to seek treatment if your insurance allows it.

(8/21/2008 4:54:48 PM)

Yes, apnea is real, serious and can shorten your life. I was diagnosed at the sleep center 4 years ago. It took some time to get used to the mask. I wear it every night and not when I take a nap.

Stay with the mask, your life depends on it. My GURD cleared up after I got the CPAP. My wife sleeps better now that I do not wake her up with my snoring.

If the machine is loud, there is something wrong with it.

(8/21/2008 8:18:06 PM)

I have it and it drives sleeping partners nuts (loud snoring). I woke up in the middle of the nite last week unable to breathe for about a minute and that scared me to death. Very real problem. Going to try weight loss before going to heavy duty devices. I'm 61, weigh 215 and am 6'1".