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Abstract

A method of permitting restful sleep at high altitudes is disclosed involving administration to a patient susceptible to Cheyne-Stokes respiration of a pharmaceutically acceptable amount of an endorphin-blocking compound capable of blocking the action of endogenous endorphins, whereby sleep interruptions characteristic of Cheyne-Stokes respiration are alleviated. There is also disclosed a method of permitting a continuous flow of oxygen to the brain cells in a sleeping patient otherwise susceptible to repeated interruptions of breathing that would retard the necessary steady flow of oxygen to brain cells to maintain their viable condition, which comprises administration prior to retiring of a pharmaceutically acceptable amount of an endorphin-blocking compound capable of blocking the action of endogenous endorphins to substantially obviate sleep interruptions that otherwise would occur. In a different embodiment there is provided a method of retarding the advance of the symptoms of senility in a patient having a gross loss of effective sleep and an erosion of viable brain cells due to the periodic disruption of sleep including periods of total lack of breathing depriving the brain of a necessary minimum oxygen level to sustain healthy brain tissue, said periodic disruption taking place during periods of sleep due to periodic cessation of breathing, said method comprising administering to said patient a chemical agent that blocks periodic cessation of breathing to maintain the necessary minimum oxygen level to sustain healthy brain tissue during periods of sleep. Also provided is a method of retarding the symptoms of aging caused by a decreased level of oxygen in the bloodstream in a geriatric patient which promotes excessive endorphin levels, by administering to a geriatric patient with diminished oxygen circulation in the bloodstream an endorphin blocker, whereby the normal level of endorphin is restored, thereby obviating the effects of the excess endorphin.

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