Eminent Sleep Medicine Professor Joins European Urology's Nocturia Resource Centre

AMSTERDAM, March 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

Professor D.L. Bliwise appointed as Associate Editor to increase multidisciplinary understanding of the causes and treatments of nocturia

The joint editors of European Urology's Nocturia Resource Centre, a freely accessible educational platform designed for healthcare professionals specialized in urology, are pleased to announce the appointment of sleep medicine expert, Professor Donald L. Bliwise of Emory University, Atlanta USA, as Associate Editor of this online platform.

Nocturia, which is defined as the episode of waking up during the night to void urine, is a common problem which worsens with age. Sufferers of severe nocturia often wake up more than three times a night. Research suggests that over 60% of people are negatively affected by it. Nocturia is one of the most common causes for disturbed sleep.

Until now cases of severe nocturia have mostly been assessed from a urological basis, however there is a need for creating better multidisciplinary understanding of the causes and treatments of nocturia. Professor Bliwise brings 40 years of practice as neurologist with a specialty in sleep medicine and believes that a better understanding of sleep will help urologists gain more insight into the causes of nocturia.

"Most urologists recognize that sleep plays an important role in the definition of ICS [International Continence Society] nocturia, but for many, sleep becomes relegated to a single, unified state without much more interest or thought given to it. In fact, sleep researchers have spent years describing, both qualitatively and quantitatively, various aspects of sleep […] Demystifying sleep begins with breaking it down to its various dimensions," explains Professor Bliwise in his introductory Editorial for the Nocturia Resource Centre.

"The appointment of Professor Bliwise represents a merger of the specialties of sleep medicine and urology that seeks to help the platform become a more rounded medical resource, giving to the many thousands of doctors who use it a valuable source of up-to-date clinical knowledge that covers both specialties. This development can help ensure that the many thousands of nocturia sufferers will receive better treatment," said Elsevier Executive Publisher of European Urology, Koos Admiraal.

As an Associate Editor, Professor Bliwise will be tasked with selecting the latest relevant research articles and providing expert commentaries for users of the Resource Centre. The platform is hosted by the world's highest ranked (based on Thomson Reuters ISI's Journal Citation Reports) urology research journal, European Urology and available for use by any healthcare professional around the globe.

Notes for editors

To read Professor Bliwise's introductory editorial go to: http://nocturia.elsevierresource.com/editorials/detail/introducing-sleep-in-the-nocturia-resource-centre/2

About Professor Donald L. Bliwise

Dr. Bliwise is Professor of Neurology at Emory University School of Medicine, in Atlanta, Georgia (USA), where he also holds secondary appointments as Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Professor of Nursing in the Hodgson School of Nursing. He received his Ph.D. in 1982 from the University of Chicago and from 1982-1992 he trained in the sleep program at Stanford University School of Medicine. In 1992 he moved to Emory, where he joined the faculty as Associate Professor in the Department of Neurology and became tenured Full Professor in 2001.

He has published over 225 research papers in peer-reviewed journals, 50 book chapters, 40 letters and editorials and over 250 abstracts. He has been Principal Investigator or Co-investigator on grants from a variety of United States National Institutes of Health Institutes including NINDS, NIA, NCCAM, NIMH, NIDDK, NINR and NIMHD, as well as the Alzheimer's Association.

Service commitments include Deputy Editor of SLEEP and Editorial Board of Sleep Medicine. Dr. Bliwise has served on over 100 Scientific Review Groups for grant applications from the National Institutes of Health, including 8 years of standing Study Section membership. He has reviewed manuscripts for over 75 different professional journals. He has served on the Emory University Institutional Review Board and currently represents Emory in the Sleep Research Network of the US network of CTSAs. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

His general area of research has been the description, elucidation of pathophysiology, and treatment of sleep disorders in the aged humans, with a special focus on sleep in neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. His research approaches include observational, population-based studies, descriptive, laboratory-based research and randomized clinical trials.

About European Urology's Nocturia Resource Centre

The Nocturia Resource Centre is a freely accessible educational platform, designed for healthcare professionals, which aims to increase clinical knowledge in the area of nocturia by disseminating important new research and clinical developments more broadly. It is independently editorially controlled by two urology professors Professor Antonella Giannantoni and Professor Philip van Kerrebroeck, provided in collaboration with the established medical journal European Urology, hosted and managed by Elsevier, and funded by an unrestricted educational grant from Ferring Pharmaceuticals. All hosted content is free to access. http://nocturia.elsevierresource.com/

About European Urology

European Urology, the official journal of the EAU, has been a prestigious urological forum for over 35 years, and is currently read by more than 20,000 urologists across the globe. With an impact factor of 10.476, the journal is the leading scientific publication in the field of urology. For more information, go to: http://www.europeanurology.com

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and 25,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include ScienceDirect, Scopus, SciVal, Reaxys, ClinicalKey and Mosby's Suite, which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, helping research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.

A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC, a world leading provider of professional information solutions in the Science, Medical, Legal and Risk and Business sectors, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

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Elsevier
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