Pressures Exerted on Upper Airway Walls by Surrounding Tissue Structures

阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停综合征(OSA)是指在睡眠中喉咙堵塞导致呼吸困难，包括短时间呼吸停止的情况。阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停综合征对男性和女性都有影响，但它是成年男性最常见的慢性疾病之一，发生在45岁以上男性的5%。在拟议的研究中，我们将检查喉咙周围组织中的压力对喉咙保持打开和允许呼吸的能力的影响。动物研究的主要结果是增加了对上呼吸道施加塌陷力的机制的了解。这将对影响阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停综合征患者睡眠期间上呼吸道塌陷的潜在因素有深入的了解。尤其重要的是我们对颌骨位置对施加在喉壁上的压力的影响的研究，因为在睡眠期间使用口腔内设备将颌骨向前保持是防止睡眠期间喉咙堵塞的治疗方法之一。这项人体研究将首次检验颈部的质量(重量)对睡眠呼吸障碍的严重程度有直接影响这一概念。如果颈部肿块对睡眠呼吸障碍有实质性影响，那么旨在减少颈部肿块(脂肪)的策略可能会为OSA患者的管理提供一种新的治疗方法。

The obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSA) refers to a condition in which throat blockage occurs during sleep leading to breathing difficulties, including cessation of breathing for short periods of time. OSA effects both men and women but is amongst the commonest of chronic disorders of adult males, occurring in 5% of men over the age of 45 years. In the proposed studies we will examine the effect of the pressure in the tissues surrounding the throat on the ability of the throat to stay open and allow breathing. The major outcome of the animal studies is increased knowledge concerning mechanisms whereby collapsing forces are applied to the upper airway. This will give insights into potential factors influencing upper airway collapse during sleep in OSA patients. Of particular importance will be our studies on the effects of jaw position on the pressure exerted on the walls of the throat since the use of an intra-oral device to hold the jaw forward during sleep is one of the treatments used to prevent throat blockage during sleep. The studies in humans will examine, for the first time, the notion that the mass (weight) of the neck has a direct effect on the severity of sleep disordered breathing. If neck mass has a substantive influence on sleep disordered breathing then strategies aimed at reducing neck mass (fat) may provide a new therapeutic approach to the management of OSA patients.