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The 5α‐reductase inhibitor finasteride is not associated with alterations in sleep spindles in men referred for polysomnography
Author(s) -
Goldstein Michael R.,
Cook Jesse D.,
Plante David T.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
human psychopharmacology: clinical and experimental
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.461
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1099-1077
pISSN - 0885-6222
DOI - 10.1002/hup.2502
Subject(s) - sleep spindle , finasteride , polysomnography , zolpidem , neuroactive steroid , gabaa receptor , non rapid eye movement sleep , electroencephalography , sleep (system call) , medicine , psychology , endocrinology , neuroscience , receptor , pharmacology , insomnia , computer science , prostate , cancer , operating system
Objective Endogenous neurosteroids that potentiate the gamma‐aminobutyric acid type A (GABA A ) receptor are thought to enhance the generation of sleep spindles. This study tested the hypothesis that the 5α‐reductase inhibitor finasteride, an agent associated with reductions in neurosteroids, would be associated with reduced sleep spindles in men referred for polysomnography. Methods Spectral analysis and spindle waveform detection were performed on electroencephalographic (EEG) sleep data in the 11–16 Hz sigma band, as well as several subranges, from 27 men taking finasteride and 27 matched comparison patients (ages 18 to 81 years). Results No significant differences between groups were observed for spectral power or sleep spindle morphology measures, including spindle density, amplitude, duration, and integrated spindle activity. Conclusions Contrary to our hypothesis, these findings demonstrate that finasteride is not associated with alterations in sleep spindle range activity or spindle morphology parameters. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.