Pressures Exerted on Upper Airway Walls by Surrounding Tissue Structures

阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停综合征（OSA）是指在睡眠期间发生咽喉阻塞导致呼吸困难的病症，包括短时间内呼吸停止。OSA影响男性和女性，但它是成年男性最常见的慢性疾病之一，在45岁以上的男性中占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开放并允许呼吸的能力的影响。动物研究的主要成果是增加了关于塌陷力施加到上气道的机制的知识。这将有助于深入了解影响OSA患者睡眠期间上气道塌陷的潜在因素。特别重要的是我们对下颌位置对施加在喉咙壁上的压力的影响的研究，因为在睡眠期间使用口腔内装置来保持下颌向前是用于防止睡眠期间喉咙堵塞的治疗方法之一。在人类中的研究将首次检验颈部质量（重量）对睡眠呼吸障碍的严重程度有直接影响的概念。如果颈部质量对睡眠呼吸障碍有实质性影响，那么旨在减少颈部质量（脂肪）的策略可能为OSA患者的管理提供新的治疗方法。

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.