Sympathetic chemoreflex responses in obstructive sleep apnea and effects of continuous positive airway pressure therapy.
Publication/Presentation Date
5-1-2007
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Sympathetic nerve activity is increased in awake and regularly breathing patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Over time, repetitive hypoxic stress could alter sympathetic chemoreflex function in OSA.
METHODS: We determined the responses to acute hypoxia (fraction of inspired oxygen of 0.1, for 5 min), static handgrip exercise, and the cold pressor test (CPT) in 24 patients with OSA (age, 50 +/- 3 years [mean +/- SEM]; apnea-hypopnea index, 47 +/- 6 events per hour) and in 14 age- and weight-matched nonapneic control subjects. Muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) [peroneal microneurography], BP, and ventilation were monitored.
RESULTS: Basal MSNA was higher in OSA patients compared to control subjects (45 +/- 4 bursts per minute vs 33 +/- 4 bursts per minute, respectively; p < 0.05). Furthermore, compared to control subjects, the MSNA responses to hypoxia were markedly enhanced in OSA (p < 0.001). Whereas the ventilatory responses to hypoxia tended to be increased in OSA (p = 0.06), the BP responses did not differ between the groups (p = 0.45). The neurocirculatory reflex responses to handgrip exercise and to the CPT were similar in the two groups (p = not significant). In OSA patients who were retested after 1 to 24 months of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy (n = 11), basal MSNA (p < 0.01) and the responses of MSNA to hypoxia (p < 0.01) decreased significantly, whereas the ventilatory responses remained unchanged (p = 0.82).
CONCLUSION: These data suggest that the sympathetic responses to hypoxic chemoreflex stimulation are enhanced in OSA and may normalize in part following CPAP therapy.
Volume
131
Issue
5
First Page
1406
Last Page
1413
ISSN
0012-3692
Published In/Presented At
Imadojemu, V. A., Mawji, Z., Kunselman, A., Gray, K. S., Hogeman, C. S., & Leuenberger, U. A. (2007). Sympathetic chemoreflex responses in obstructive sleep apnea and effects of continuous positive airway pressure therapy. Chest, 131(5), 1406–1413. https://doi.org/10.1378/chest.06-2580
Disciplines
Business Administration, Management, and Operations | Health and Medical Administration | Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods
PubMedID
17494791
Department(s)
Administration and Leadership
Document Type
Article