Ondine's curse is an eponym that refers to central alveolar apnea/hypopnea observed among patients with acquired or congenital brainstem disorders. This condition results in loss of automatic and/or voluntary respiration with characteristic polysomnographic finding of impaired ventilator responses to hypercapnia and sleep apnea, which are more pronounced during non-REM sleep, less in REM sleep,...

A 42-year-old hypertensive diabetic white female with a history of excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), snoring, and obesity exhibits several risk factors for the obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. In addition, the patient has periodic leg movements in sleep and central sleep apnea. Renal insufficiency, with raised blood urea nitrogen, likely made a contribution to the EDS.

Sleep apnea occurs when the upper airway repeatedly becomes blocked during sleep, reducing or entirely blocking airflow. This is referred to as obstructive sleep apnea. If brain fails provide necessary impulses for breathing, disease known central and other breathing problems are a leading cause of medical, social, occupational disability. also linked pulmonary hypertension, cardiac arrhythmia ...

Sankari A, Bascom AT, Chowdhuri S, Badr MS. Tetraplegia is a risk factor for central sleep apnea. J Appl Physiol 116: 345–353, 2014. First published October 10, 2013; doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00731.2013.—Sleepdisordered breathing (SDB) is highly prevalent in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI); the exact mechanism(s) or the predictors of disease are unknown. We hypothesized that patients wit...

INTRODUCTION The knowledge on the mechanism of the postoperative exacerbation of sleep-disordered breathing may direct the perioperative management of patients with obstructive sleep apnea. The objective of this study is to investigate the factors associated with postoperative severity of sleep-disordered breathing. METHODS After obtaining approvals from Institutional Review Boards, consentin...

Several studies of sleep-breathing physiology have suggested that sleep deprivation may worsen obstructive sleep apnea. The aim of the study was to determine the direct effect of night work on breathing variables during sleep in fast-rotating shift workers. Twenty one men - police officers, fast-rotating shift workers, underwent polysomnography on 2 occasions: under a normal sleeping condition ...

BACKGROUND Recent studies suggest that acute pulmonary congestion induces hyperventilation and that hyperventilation-related hypocapnia leads to ventilatory control instability and central sleep apnea. Whether chronic pulmonary congestion due to congestive heart failure (CHF) is associated with central apnea is unknown. We hypothesized that CHF patients with central apnea would have greater pul...

The obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), a form of periodic breathing, is highly prevalent disorder that affects at least 4% of adult male population and 2% of females and is associated with repetitive episodes of complete (apnea) or partial (hypopnea) occlusion of upper airway during sleep. These episodes result, among others, in loud snoring and in daytime symptoms such as excessive sleep...