• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.69-74
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• 2010

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is associated with significant cardiovascular morbidity and increased mortality. However, it was controversial whether obstructive sleep apnea syndrome could cause pulmonary hypertension. The controversy was resolved by several studies that have shown pulmonary hypertension in 20% to 40% of patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome without underlying other cardiopulmonary diseases and reductions in pulmonary arterial pressure in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome after treatment with nocturnal continuous positive airway pressure. Recent studies provide strong evidence for endothelial dysfunction in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and pulmonary hypertension. Endothelin-1 is a 21 amino acid peptide with diverse biologic activity such as highly potent vasoconstrictor and mitogen regulator that may play a key role in obstructive sleep ap-nea syndrome and pulmonary hypertension. Continuous positive airway pressure therapy is moderately effective in reducing pulmonary arterial pressure. Further researches are needed to assess the therapeutic efficacy of pharmacologic therapy with agents that inhibit the action of endothelin-1 in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome patients with pulmonary hypertension.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.264-270
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• 2007

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is defined by sleep apnea with decreased oxygen saturation, excessive snoring with daytime sleepiness, and frequent awakening during the night time sleep. The present study was performed to investigate how apnea-hypopnea, that possibly causes breathing disturbance during sleep, can affect sleep pattern in patients with OSAS. We included 115 patients (92 men, 23 women) who underwent a polysomnography from January 2006 to May 2007. As the frequency of sleep apnea-hypopnea increases, the proportion of non-rapid eye movement (REM) sleep (p<0.001), and stage I sleep (p<0.001) increased, while that of stage II sleep (p<0.001), stage III and IV sleep (p<0.01), and REM sleep (p<0.05) decreased. Furthermore, sleep apnea-hypopnea was closely correlated with REM sleep (r=0.314, p<0.001), stage I sleep (r=0.719, p<0.001), stage II sleep (p=-0.342, p<0.05), stage III and IV sleep (r=-0.414, p<0.001), and REM sleep (r=-0.342, p<0.05). Stage I sleep could account for the 51% of the variance of apnea-hyponea. Our study shows sleep apnea-hypopnea affects sleep pattern in pattern with OSAS significantly, and the change of stage I sleep is the most important factor in estimating the disturbance of sleep pattern.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.77-89
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• 1996

Data collected to date indicate that sleep apnea syndrome is a risk factor in the development of cardiovascular dysfunction such as systemic hypertension, cardiac arrhythmias, pulmonary hypertension, right heart failure, angina, myocardial infarction, and stroke. Several reports suggest that untreated patients with sleep apnea syndrome have a higher long-term mortality than treated patients and than normal subjects. But there are many controversies concerning the treatment of sleep apnea syndrome, and there is no universally accepted standard for effective treatment. We reviewed the current approaches and options in the medical treatment of sleep apnea syndrome.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.388-392
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• 2016

In this study, we present the surgical treatment of obstructive sleep apnea in a child with Treacher Collins syndrome. A 10-year-old girl with a past history of Treacher Collins syndrome presented to our clinic with her parents for respiratory distress and insomnia. The patient was referred to a sleep laboratory where she was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea, which was a consequence of her Treacher Collins syndrome. The patient underwent mandibular distraction osteogenesis under general anesthesia. The mandible was expanded by 15 mm using internal bilateral distractors. After distraction osteogenesis, the patient's respiratory problems resolved, and she was able to sleep comfortably. Distraction osteogenesis was an effective method of advancing the mandible, increasing the upper airway space and ultimately preventing obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in patients with Treacher Collins syndrome.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.60-67
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• 1994

Objectives: The Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is characterized by snoring, observed apnea during sleep and excessive daytime sleepiness. The overnight polysomnographic recording is used to investigate patients with possible obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. But the overnight polysomnographic recording is time consuming, expensive, and labor-intensive. Recently in diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, several simple screening tests have been suggested. Methods: This study was performed to assess the probability of application of clinical features and the degree of oxygen desaturation as a screening test for the obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. The sensitivity and specificity of the self-report of clinical features including snoring, observed apnea during sleep, excessive daytime sleepiness and insomnia were tested. And the degree of oxygen desaturation measured by oximetry in 42 subjects were compared with the overnight polysomnographic recording results. Results: In the prediction of apnea index more than 5, the sensitivity of observed apnea during sleep, snoring, excessive daytime sleepiness and insomnia were 96.8%, 93.5%, 38.7%, 25.8% and the specificity of those clinical features were 182%, 36.4%, 100%, 72.7%, respectively. In the prediction of apnea index more than 5, the sensitivity and specificity of the combination of more than three self-report clinical features were 54.8% and 90.9%. The degree of oxygen de saturation and maximal apnea duration in the group of apnea index more than 5 were significantly different from those in the group of apnea index below 5(P<0.001). And the apnea index was significantly correlated with the degree of oxygen desaturation and maximal apnea duration(P<0.001). Conclusion: These results suggest that application of clinical features alone as a screening test for the obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is inadequate because of it's high rate of false positive and false negative results. The degree of oxygen desaturation measured by oximetry is possibly applicable to screening test and follow up evaluation of treatment efficacy for the obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.65-76
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• 1996

Natural sleep pattern and its physiology in childhood are much different from those in adulthood. Several aspects of clinical evaluation for sleepiness in childhood are more difficult than in adulthood. These difficulties are due to several factors. First, excessive sleepiness in childhood do not always develop functional impairments. Second, objective test such as MSLT may not be reliable since it is hard to be certain that the child understand instructions. Third, sleepiness in children is often obscured by irritability. paradoxical hyperactivity, or behavioral disturbances. Anseguently, careful clinical evaluation is needed for the sleepy children. Usual causes of sleepiness in children are the disorders that induce insufficient sleep such as sleep apnea syndrome, schedule disorder, underlying medical and psychiatric disorder, and so forth. After excluding such factors, we can diagnose the hypersomnic disorders such as narcolepsy, Kleine-Levin syndrome, and idiopathic central nervous system hypersomnia. Among the variety of those causes of sleepiness, I reviewed the clinical difference of narcolepsy and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in childhood compared with in adulthood. Recognition of the childhood narcolepsy is difficult because even severely sleepy children often do not develop pathognomic cataplexy and associated REM phenomena until much later. Since childhood narcolepsy give srise to many psychological, academical problem. Practicers should be concerned about these aspects. Childhood obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is different from adult obstructive sleep apnea syndrome too. Several aspects such as pathophysiology. clinical feature, diagnostic criteria, complication, management, and prognosis differ from those in the adult syndrome. An important feature of childhood obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is the variety of severe complications such as behavioral disorders, cognitive impairment, cardiovascular symptoms, developmental delay, and ever death. Fortunately, surgical interventions like adenotosillectomy or UPPP are more effective for Childhood OSA than adult form. CPAP is a "safe, effective, and well-tolerated" treatment modality too. So if early detection and proper management of childhood OSA were done, the severe complication would be prevented or ever cured.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.404-415
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• 1998

Background: Sleep apnea syndrome, which occurs in 1~4 % of the adult population, frequently has different cardiovascular complications such as hypertension, ischemic heart disease, cardiac arrythmia as well as sleep-wake disorder such as excessive daytime hypersomnolence or insomnia. Mortality and vascular morbidity are reported to be significantly higher in sleep apnea syndrome patients than in normal population. According to the recent studies, autonomic dysfunction as well as hypoxemia, hypercapneic acidosis, and increased respiratory effort, may playa role in the high prevalence of cardiovascular complications in patients with sleep apnea syndrome. However the cause and mechanism of autonomic neuropathy in patients with sleep apnea syndrome are not well understood. We studied the existence of autonomic neuropathy in patients with sleep apnea syndrome and factors which influence the pathogenesis of autonomic neuropathy. Method: We used the cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy(CAN) test as a method for evaluation of autonomic neuropathy. The subjects of this study were 20 patients who diagnosed sleep apnea syndrome by polysomnography and 15 persons who were normal by polysomnography. Results: Body mass index and resting systolic blood pressure were higher in sleep apnea group than control group. Apnea index(Al), respiratory disturbance index(RDI) and snoring time percentage were significantly higher in sleep apnea group compared with control group. But there were no significant differences in saturation of oxygen and sleep efficiency in two groups. In the cardiac autonomic neuropathy test, the valsalva ratio was significantly low in sleep apnea group compared with control group but other tests had no differences between two groups. The CAN scores and corrected QT(QTc) interval were calculated significantly higher in sleep apnea group, but there were no significant correlations between CAN scores and QTc interval. There were no significant data of polysomnography to correlate to the CAN score. It meant that the autonomic neuropathy in patients with sleep apnea was affected by other multiple factors. Conclusion: The cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy test was a useful method for the evaluation of autonomic neuropathy in patients with sleep apnea syndrome and abnormalities of cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy were observed in patients with sleep apnea syndrome. However, we failed to define the factors that influence the pathogenesis of autonomic neuropathy of sleep apnea syndrome. This study warrants futher investigations in order to define the pathogenesis of autonomic neuropathy in patients with sleep apnea syndrome.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.5-11
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• 2003

Sleep apnea syndrome is a common clinical disorder characterized by intermittent cessation of airflow at nose and mouth during sleep. The clinical significance of this syndrome is that it is one of the most common causes of excessive daytime sleepiness. It can also cause neuropsychiatric, cardiovascular, and cerebrovascular complications. The standard for diagnosis of sleep apnea syndrome is nocturnal polysomnography. Because polysomnography is a time-consuming and expensive test, many efforts have been made to replace polysomnography with a simpler system of monitoring, but no method has yet been approved as a definitive investigation method. The goals of treatment for this syndrome are to eliminate excessive daytime sleepiness and to reduce the risk of possible cardiovascular complications. Continuous positive airway pressure is the most definite and widely accepted treatment for achieving these goals. Other treatments such as surgical treatment, oral appliances, and behavioral therapy may be useful for selected patients who are mildly affected.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.63-66
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• 2011

It has been controversial whether upper airway resistance syndrome (UARS) is a distinct syndrome or not since it was reported in 1993. The International Classification of Sleep Disorders classified UARS under obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in 2005. UARS can be diagnosed when the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) is fewer than 5 events per hour, the simultaneously calculated respiratory disturbance index (RDI) is more than 5 events per hour due to abnormal non-apneic non-hypopneic respiratory events accompanying respiratory effort related arousals (RERAs), and oxygen saturation is greater than 92% at termination of an abnormal breathing event. Although esophageal pressure measurement remains the gold standard for detecting subtle breathing abnormality other than hypopnea and apnea, nasal pressure transducer has been most commonly used. RERAs include phase A2 of cyclical alternating patterns (CAPs) associated with EEG changes. Symptoms of OSAS can overlap with UARS, but chronic insomnia tends to be more common in UARS than in OSAS and clinical symptoms similar with functional somatic syndrome are also more common in UARS. In this journal, diagnostic and clinical differences between UARS and OSAS are reviewed.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.275-282
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• 2022

The purpose of this study was to analyze acupuncture treatment methods and acupoints used to treat obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) or obstructive sleep apnea-hypoapnea syndrome (OSAHS). The data were retrieved from January 2010 to May 2022 from the China National Knowledge Infrastructure database. The search terms included "adult," "obstructive sleep apnea," "obstructive sleep apnea hypoapnea syndrome," "acupuncture," and "electro-acupuncture." Clinical trials for acupuncture treatment of OSA or OSAHS were included in this review (4 non-randomized controlled studies, 1 was a case report, and 10 randomized controlled studies). For OSA and OSAHS treatment, the acupoints that were most frequently used included REN23, LU7, ST40, EX9, LI11, and DU20. Compared with the control or Western treatment group, the treatment outcome measures of participants in the acupuncture treatment group significantly improved. In some studies, participants in the acupuncture group did not have side effects and the treatment was cost-effective. The data analyzed in this review suggest that acupuncture is an effective treatment for OSA or OSAHS.