Present evidence suggests that a disturbance in the collapsibility of the upper airway exists in patients with obstructive sleep apnea during sleep and wakefulness. This proposal, by applying concepts of flow through collapsible tubes (Starling resistor), will examine the collapsibility of the human upper airway in both normal individuals and in patients with obstructive sleep apnea. This proposal is based on preliminary observations which have shown that during sleep, normal individuals and patients with obstructive sleep apnea can be distinguished by differences in the collapsibility of the upper airway as refected by changes in the critical pressure (P-crit) of the upper airway. In order to investigate the role of P-crit in health and disease (obstructive sleep apnea), we will vary upstream pressure at the nose to determine critical pressures of the upper airway. Our first specific aim will be to determine the range of critical pressure in normal individuals, normal individuals who snore, and patients with obstructive sleep apnea. Since additional data suggests that abnormal upper airway critical pressures reflect a distrubance in upper airway collapsibility in patients with obstructive sleep apnea, second specific aim will be to determine whether factors that reduce the severity of sleep apnea result in a parallel decrease in P-crit. Specifically, we will investigate the effects of weight loss and protriptyline on upper airway P-crit. Our third specific aim will be to determine whether factors that increase the severity of sleep apnea lead to a parallel rise in critical pressure (P-crit) of the upper airway. Finally, our fourth specific aim will be to relate the effects of uvulopalatopharyngoplasty on the severity of obstructive sleep apnea and P-crit. Specifically, we will explore the relationship between changes in upper airway size following reconstruction of the upper airway and upper airway collapsibility.
| Wei, Tony; Erlacher, Markus A; Grossman, Peter et al. (2013) Approach for streamlining measurement of complex physiological phenotypes of upper airway collapsibility. Comput Biol Med 43:600-6 |
| Hernandez, A B; Kirkness, J P; Smith, P L et al. (2012) Novel whole body plethysmography system for the continuous characterization of sleep and breathing in a mouse. J Appl Physiol 112:671-80 |
| Polotsky, Mikhael; Elsayed-Ahmed, Ahmed S; Pichard, Luis et al. (2012) Effects of leptin and obesity on the upper airway function. J Appl Physiol 112:1637-43 |
| Chin, Chien-Hung; Kirkness, Jason P; Patil, Susheel P et al. (2012) Compensatory responses to upper airway obstruction in obese apneic men and women. J Appl Physiol (1985) 112:403-10 |
| Kirkness, J P; McGinley, B M; Sgambati, F P et al. (2011) Developing quantitative physiological phenotypes of sleep apnea for epidemiological studies. Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc 2011:8319-22 |
| Polotsky, Mikhael; Elsayed-Ahmed, Ahmed S; Pichard, Luis et al. (2011) Effect of age and weight on upper airway function in a mouse model. J Appl Physiol 111:696-703 |
| Kirkness, Jason P; Peterson, Leigh A; Squier, Samuel B et al. (2011) Performance characteristics of upper airway critical collapsing pressure measurements during sleep. Sleep 34:459-67 |
| Hoshino, Yuko; Ayuse, Takao; Kobayashi, Masato et al. (2011) The effects of hormonal status on upper airway patency in normal female subjects during propofol anesthesia. J Clin Anesth 23:527-33 |
| Schwartz, Alan R; Schneider, Hartmut; Smith, Philip L et al. (2011) Physiologic phenotypes of sleep apnea pathogenesis. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 184:1105-6 |
| Kirkness, J P; Verma, M; McGinley, B M et al. (2011) Pitot-tube flowmeter for quantification of airflow during sleep. Physiol Meas 32:223-37 |
Showing the most recent 10 out of 79 publications
