Study objectivesTo replicate the association between insomnia with objective short sleep duration and hypertension, type 2 diabetes and duration of insomnia.DesignRetrospective case-control study.SettingDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center—University of Freiburg.Participants328 patients with primary insomnia classified according to DSM-IV criteria (125 males, 203 females, 44.3 ± 12.2 years).InterventionsN/AMeasurementsAll participants were investigated using polysomnography, blood pressure measurements, and fasting routine laboratory.ResultsInsomnia patients with short sleep duration (< 6 hours) in the first night of laboratory sleep presented with a longer duration of insomnia compared to those with normal sleep duration (≥ 6 hours) in the first night of laboratory sleep. Insomnia patients who were categorised as short sleepers in either night were not more likely to suffer from hypertension (systolic blood pressure of ≥ 140 mm Hg, diastolic blood pressure of ≥ 90 mm Hg, or a previously established diagnosis). Data analysis showed that insomnia patients with objective short sleep duration were not more likely to suffer from type 2 diabetes (fasting plasma glucose level of ≥ 126 mg/dl, or a previously established diagnosis). However, the diabetes analysis was only based on a very small number of diabetes cases. As a new finding, insomnia patients who were categorised as short sleepers in either night presented with increases in liver enzyme levels.ConclusionsThe finding on insomnia duration supports the concept of two distinct sub-groups of insomnia, namely insomnia with, and without, objectively determined short sleep duration. However, our data challenges previous findings that insomnia patients with short sleep duration are more likely to suffer from hypertension.

In plants, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and Golgi bodies are not only in close proximity, but are also physically linked. This unique organization raises questions about the nature of the transport vectors carrying cargo between the two organelles. Same as in metazoan and yeast cells, it was suggested that cargo is transported from the ER to Golgi cisternae via COPII-coated vesicles produced at ribosome-free ER exit sites (ERES). Recent developments in mammalian cell research suggest, though, that COPII helps to select secretory cargo, but does not coat the carriers leaving the ER. Furthermore, it was shown that mammalian ERES expand into a tubular network containing secretory cargo, but no COPII components. Because of the close association of the ER and Golgi bodies in plant cells, it was previously proposed that ERES and the Golgi comprise a secretory unit that travels over or with a motile ER membrane. In this study, we aimed to explore the nature of ERES in plant cells and took advantage of high-resolution confocal microscopy and imaged ERES labelled with canonical markers (Sar1a, Sec16, Sec24). We found that ERES are dynamically connected to Golgi bodies and most likely represent pre-cis-Golgi cisternae. Furthermore, we showed fine tubular connections from the ER to Golgi compartments (ERGo tubules) as well as fine protrusions from ERES/Golgi cisternae connecting with the ER. We suggest that these tubules observed between the ER and Golgi as well as between the ER and ERES are involved in stabilizing the physical connection between ER and ERES/Golgi cisternae, but may also be involved in cargo transport from the ER to Golgi bodies.