Regulatory Control of the Upper Airway Muscle Genioglossus During Sleep

睡眠期间上气道颏舌肌的调节控制

• 批准号: nhmrc : 454458
• 负责人: Dr Christopher Worsnop
• 金额: $ 21.99万
• 依托单位: The University of Melbourne
• 依托单位国家: 澳大利亚
• 项目类别: NHMRC Project Grants
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 澳大利亚
• 起止时间: 2007-01-01 至 2009-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://researchdata.edu.au/regulatory-control-upper-genioglossus-sleep/77152
• 关键词: Regulatory; Control; Upper; Airway; Muscle

Difficulty breathing during sleep is a major health problem. Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) is the most frequently occurring of these disorders, being found in approximately 4% of males and 2% of females. In OSA the upper airway (UA) collapses during sleep preventing airflow and causing a fall in oxygen levels in the blood. The airway collapses because during sleep muscles in the UA are unable to offset the negative pressure generated within the airway by the effort of inspiring. If the negative pressure is too great and the airway collapses the person has to wake up to reopen the airway. As the UA collapses again on the return of sleep, the cycle becomes repetitive, causing sleep disruption. OSA is a significant health risk causing heart disorders, increased mortality, daytime sleepiness, reduced daytime performance and increased risk of accidents. OSA is due to two interacting factors. First, people with a narrow airway have to generate a greater negative pressure during inspiration. Second, and critically, sleep reduces activity in the UA muscles. The importance of this sleep effect is indicated by the observation that OSA patients do not obstruct while awake. Thus, a respiratory abnormality during sleep is a necessary component of the disorder. However, progress in understanding motor control of UA muscles has been slow. We argue that this is in part because research has concentrated on analysing the activity of the UA muscles, rather than measuring the individual motor units that make up the muscles. In this project we propose to investigate the sleep related activity of individual motor units in the UA muscle, genioglossus (GG). GG plays a critical role in the UA as it keeps the tongue from collapsing backwards into the airway. We anticipate that this approach will provide insights into motor control of the tongue and the role of GG in the development of OSA.

睡眠时呼吸困难是一个严重的健康问题。阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停（OSA）是这些疾病中最常见的，约有4%的男性和2%的女性。在OSA中，上气道（UA）在睡眠期间塌陷，阻止气流并导致血液中氧气水平下降。气道塌陷是因为在睡眠期间，UA中的肌肉不能抵消通过吸气的努力在气道内产生的负压。如果负压太大，气道塌陷，患者必须醒来重新打开气道。当UA在睡眠恢复时再次崩溃时，循环变得重复，导致睡眠中断。阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停是一种严重的健康风险，会导致心脏疾病、死亡率增加、白天嗜睡、白天表现下降和事故风险增加。OSA是由两个相互作用的因素造成的。首先，气道狭窄的人在吸气时必须产生更大的负压。其次，也是至关重要的一点，睡眠会减少UA肌肉的活动。这种睡眠效应的重要性由OSA患者在清醒时不阻塞的观察结果表明。因此，睡眠期间的呼吸异常是疾病的必要组成部分。然而，对UA肌肉运动控制的理解进展缓慢。我们认为，这在一定程度上是因为研究集中在分析UA肌肉的活动，而不是测量组成肌肉的单个运动单元。在这个项目中，我们建议调查的个别运动单位的UA肌肉，颏舌肌（GG）的睡眠相关活动。GG在UA中起着关键作用，因为它可以防止舌头向后塌陷到气道中。我们预计，这种方法将提供深入了解舌头的运动控制和GG在OSA的发展中的作用。