Paradox Lost -
Reviews:
“This is a unique and extraordinary book written by a psychiatrist widely recognised as an international authority on parasomnias..."
- DR Reading
...Read the Full Review
"...without reservation, I enthusiastically recommend Paradox Lost."
- Arthur S. Waltersab
...Read the Full Review
"...Schenck weaves a careful story of compassion and appreciation for the journeys these patients have endured..."
- Bradley V. Vaughn, MD
...Read the Full Review
"Paradox Lost is an invaluable resource."
- James B. Maas, PhD
Weiss Presidential Fellow
Professor of Psychology and
Professor, Pre-Med Program
Weill Cornell
Medical College-Qatar
Department of Psychology
Cornell University
"Paradox Lost: Midnight in the Battleground of Sleep and Dreams is a compilation of narratives and patient interviews meticulously gathered by Carlos Schenck, MD, stemming from more than two decades of work by Schenck and colleagues researching patients with parasomnias. The repertoire presented in this book of abnormal and unwanted behaviors occurring during sleep is truly remarkable. The reader will appreciate the potential hazards and dangers to both patients and bed partners as these often bizarre behaviors during sleep become manifest, such as patients jumping out of windows or strangling or hitting their bed partners while asleep. The book also highlights the psychological distress many patients face when trying to remedy their behavior given the lack of awareness of parasomnias in the general medical community and a tendency to consider such patients as simply psychologically disturbed.
The title Paradox Lost is a referen ce to Michel Jouvet’s description of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, which he coined “paradoxical sleep.” The “paradox” is the appearance of brain activation and dreaming while the body is paralyzed and asleep. The loss of this paralysis in REM sleep allow for the expression of abnormal behaviors or dreams in REM sleep, such as in REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD).
Although the title implies the book may emphasize RBD, it includes much more
than that. This work covers a wide range of non-REM sleep parasomnias, including night terrors, sleep walking, sleep eating behavior, and sleep sex behaviors. Other parasomnias, such as nocturnal dissociative disorder, and medicolegal issues also are presented. The early chapters review sleep and wakefulness, as well as an overview of the parasomnias. The parasomnias are then presented in subsequent chapters, each containing numerous interviews between Schenck and his patents. Each interview is prefaced with a summary of the patient’s findings and pertinent comments from Schenck.
The sheer volume of patient interview and stories spanning the various parasomnias is a remarkable achievement. Paradox Lost is written for a wide audience, and all who read it, from patient to technician to sleep medicine specialist, will be enriched from the experience of Schenck and his colleagues."
Markus H. Schmidt, MD, PhD
Director of Research
Ohio Sleep Medicine and Neuroscience Institute Inc, Dublin.
Adjunct Assistant Professor
Ohio State University in the Department of Neuroscience
Sleep Review Magazine:
January/February 2007
Page 44
Sleep Runners -
Reviews:
“Patients describe their journey from fear and trepidation to a relatively symptom-free life...”
- Arthur S. Walters
...Read the Full (Right )
"The strength of the documentary is in the compelling stories and case histories..."
- Professor James B. Maas, PhD
...Read the Full Review
"I know I'm only one person but I hope it means something to know that you're film truly touched and gave a ray of hope to my family."
- Rebecca in Los Angeles, CA
...Read the Full Letter
This 1-h DVD entitled Sleep Runners contains interviews with patients afflicted with parasomnias and with the two leading world experts on these disorders, Dr. Carlos Schenck and Dr. Mark Mahowald. The presentations focus primarily on rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (RBD), disorders of partial arousal (sleepwalking, sleep terrors, and confusional arousals), and sleep-related eating disorder. Patients are provided with a unique opportunity to describe not only their symptoms but also their emotional fears and struggles toward coming to terms with their condition and seeking treatment. Many of these individuals either themselves suspected, or were previously told by other physicians, that psychiatric disorders were the explanation for their episodes of often violent and bizarre nighttime behavior. It is well known now, primarily due to the pioneering efforts of Schenck and Mahowald, that the vast majority of these patients are psychiatrically normal and that, rather than psychotherapy, small dosages of clonazepam are effective for patients. Patients describe their journey from fear and trepidation to a relatively symptom-free life with the assurance that they are not insane.
The interviews with Schenck and Mahowald are classics for the ages. Many years from now, physicians will be interested in this historical footage in which symptoms of RBD and other parasomnias are described by Schenck and Mahowald, who discovered these disorders. Sleep Runners is very accessible. Physicians unfamiliar with parasomnias will learn from it, and sleep disorders specialists will also be educated. Furthermore, testimony from patients will offer hope for adequate treatment and a new life to those newly diagnosed. Readers will equally enjoy Paradox Lost: Midnight in the Battleground of Sleep and Dreams, a book on parasomnias by Schenck, which has been reviewed.
Arthur S. Walters
Center for Sleep Disorders Treatment,
Research and Education,
New Jersey Neuroscience Institute
JFK Medical Center,
Department of Neuroscience,
Seton Hall University
School of Graduate Medical Education, USA
May 8, 2006