A significant proportion of the population (around 5% of men and 2% of women) experiences breathing difficulties during sleep. In most cases, these respiratory disturbances consist of periodic breathing obstructions followed by sudden short awakenings (up to 60 times per hour in severe cases).

The patient suffering this disorder, technically called obstructive sleep apnoea-hypopnoea syndrome (OSAHS), is not aware of his/her abnormal sleep.

However, he/she experiences increased somnolence during the daytime with a consequent decrease in the quality of life, an augmented risk of traffic accidents and, in the mid-term, a higher risk of cardiovascular diseases.

During the sleep breathing disturbances, the upper airway of the patient (the area around the throat) is subjected to a mechanical trauma caused by recurrent closure and reopening.

Ramon Farré (University of Barcelona, Spain) and his team show in the present study that such mechanical trauma is able to produce inflammation in the upper airway tissues.

They have investigated the problem in an animal model in order to distinguish the effects of the mechanical trauma from the effects of other associated causes of inflammation coexisting in patients with OSAHS (obesity, hypertension, low oxygenation due to the apnoeas, etc.).

This study allows us to better understand the causes of a disease that, given its prevalence and consequences, is currently an important public health problem.

Title of Original Article
Upper airway collapse and reopening induce inflammation in a sleep apnoea model
European Respiratory Journal (Erj), Vol. 32, No 2

The European Respiratory Journal is the peer-reviewed scientific publication of the European Respiratory Society (more than 8,000 specialists in lung diseases and respiratory medicine in Europe, the United States and Australia).

European Respiratory Journal