OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effects of sildenafil on the autonomic nervous system in patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea. METHODS Thirteen male patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea (mean age 43+/-10 years with a mean body mass index of 26.7+/-1.9 kg/m(2)) received a single 50-mg dose of sildenafil or a placebo at bedtime. All-night polysomnography and heart rate variability wer...

INTRODUCTION Hemangiomas involving the upper airway can be an uncommon cause of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. CASE PRESENTATION A 26-year-old Caucasian man with a known history of a large hemangioma of his head and neck presented with sleep-disordered breathing to the sleep unit of our hospital. Severe obstructive sleep apnea syndrome was revealed on polysomnography. Nasal continuous posi...

Obstructive sleep apnea is caused by pharyngeal occlusion due to alterations in upper airway mechanical properties and/or disturbances in neuromuscular control. The objective of the study was to determine the relative contribution of mechanical loads and dynamic neuromuscular responses to pharyngeal collapse during sleep. Sixteen obstructive sleep apnea patients and sixteen normal subjects were...

Caples, Sean M., Robert Wolk, and Virend K. Somers. Influence of cardiac function and failure on sleep-disordered breathing: evidence for a causative role. J Appl Physiol 99: 2433-2439, 2005; doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00676.2005.— Heart failure is an increasingly common public health problem that is strongly linked to both central and obstructive sleep apnea, collectively referred to as sleep-di...

Anesthesia and sleep both predispose to upper airway obstruction through state-induced reductions in pharyngeal dilator muscle activation and lung volume. The tendencies are related in patients with obstructive sleep apnea commonly presenting with difficulties in airway management in the perioperative period. This is a period of great potential vulnerability for such patients because of comprom...

BACKGROUND Obstructive sleep apnea has been associated with impaired endothelial function; however, the mechanisms underlying this association are not completely understood. Cell-derived microparticles may provide a link between obstructive sleep apnea and endothelial dysfunction. OBJECTIVES This randomized controlled trial aimed to examine the effect of a 2-week withdrawal of continuous posi...

BACKGROUND Noninvasive positive pressure ventilation is frequently prescribed to obese patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and obesity hypoventilation syndrome. However, mechanical ventilation with a positive end-expiratory pressure can induce or worsen a right-to-left shunt through a patent foramen ovale associated with systemic hypoxemia. Thus, in obese patients treated with noninv...

Pediatric Obstructive Sleep Apnea is a part of the spectrum Sleep-Disordered Breathing that characterized by frequent arousals, apneas, and hypopneas. It can be associated with reduction in blood oxygen saturation hypoventilation during sleep children. If left untreated or adequately treated, it lead to long-term sequelae involving cardiovascular, endothelial, metabolic, endocrine, neurocogniti...

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS To verify the reliability and validity of automated scoring and compare it to that of manual scoring for diagnosing obstructive sleep apnea using an Embletta X100 level 2 portable device. STUDY DESIGN Retrospective study. METHODS A total of 116 patients with suspected obstructive sleep apnea who had successfully received portable polysomnography with the Embletta X100 ...

INTRODUCTION Patients with STOP-BANG score >3 have a high risk of Obstructive sleep apnea. The aim of this study was to evaluate early postoperative respiratory complications in adults with STOP-BANG score >3 after general anesthesia. METHODS This is a prospective double cohort study matching 59 pairs of adult patients with STOP-BANG score >3 (high risk of obstructive sleep apnea) and patient...