Hypoventilation secondary to brainstem stroke resulting in chronic respiratory failure is extremely uncommon. This case documents the treatment of chronic type II respiratory failure secondary to central hypoventilation with medroxyprogesterone, a new treatment option.

While obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome dominates discussion of the prevalence of sleep disordered breathing, nocturnal hypoventilation remains extremely prevalent in those with chronic ventilatory disorders and in the natural history of these conditions pre-dates the development of daytime ventilatory failure. In this review the clinical management of chronic hypoventilation in neuromuscular d...

We read with much interest the article by HELD et al. [1] regarding pulmonary hypertension (PH) due to hypoventilation. In this retrospective study, the authors reported 18 patients with alveolar hypoventilation (due to obesity or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)) and daytime PH associated with reduced exercise capacity. They showed that noninvasive positive-pressure ventilation (NI...

Congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS) is a rare disorder of the automatic control of breathing. The literary misnomer "Ondine's curse" has been used in prior literatures and the disease was first described in 1970 by Mellins et al.1 The hallmark of the disease is alveolar hypoventilation with insensitivity to hypoxaemia and hypercapnia, most pronounced during sleep, but the clinica...

Congenital central hypoventilation syndrome is a rare disorder characterised by chronic alveolar hypoventilation, which becomes more pronounced during sleep and may be associated with neurocristopathies, such as Hirchsprung's disease. A mutation in the PHOX2B gene has recently been identified. In a family of both parents and five offspring, detailed clinical assessment, pulmonary function testi...

Patients with Down syndrome (DS) are at risk for both obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and central sleep apnea (CSA); however, it is unclear how these components evolve as patients age and whether patients are also at risk for hypoventilation. A retrospective review of 144 diagnostic polysomnograms (PSG) in a tertiary care facility over 10 years was conducted. Descriptive data and exploratory corr...