Hello diawa:
As you know that it is always impossible to discuss everything on a
certain issue, my task here will be to point you to the right
direction that may serve as a starting point for any further
treatment.
I will try to talk about the most common issues on this topic and the
latest research that has been carried out on this issue. Lastly, I
will provide a few well known clinics and medical facilities where you
patients can go for a possible cure.
Please be patient with me as I go step by step in providing a viable
answer to your question.
What is Sleep Apnea & What causes it?
?Sleep apnea is a condition characterized by episodes where a person's
breathing stops while sleeping. In normal conditions, the muscles of
the upper part of the throat keep this passage open to allow air to
flow into the lungs. These muscles usually relax during sleep, but the
passage remains open enough to permit the flow of air. Some
individuals have a narrower passage, and during sleep, relaxation of
these muscles causes the passage to close, and air cannot get into the
lungs. Loud snoring and labored breathing occur. When complete
blockage of the airway occurs, air cannot reach the lungs.
For reasons that are still unclear, in deep sleep, breathing can stop
for a period of time (often more than 10 seconds). These periods of
lack of breathing, or apneas, are followed by sudden attempts to
breathe. These attempts are accompanied by a change to a lighter stage
of sleep. The result is fragmented sleep that is not restful, leading
to excessive daytime drowsiness.
The classic picture of obstructive sleep apnea includes episodes of
heavy snoring that begin soon after falling asleep. The snoring
proceeds at a regular pace for a period of time, often becoming
louder, but is then interrupted by a long silent period during which
no breathing is taking place (apnea). The apnea is then interrupted by
a loud snort and gasp and the snoring returns to its regular pace.
This behavior recurs frequently throughout the night.?
>>>Excerpt taken from:
http://health.allrefer.com/health/obstructive-sleep-apnea-info.html.
For more information, please see the article on ?Obtrusive Sleep
Apnea? from AllRefer.com by clicking the above link.
Different kinds of Sleep Apnea
?Sleep Apnea? from the University of California at Davis Website
http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/ucdhs/health/a-z/65sleepapnea/doc65.html
The article discusses the different types of Sleep Apnea including the
most common type known as the obstructive sleep apnea. Beside,
Obstructive Sleep Apnea, it sheds lights on Central Sleep Apnea, Mixed
Apnea and the uncommon Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome.
Treatment of Sleep Apnea
?Sleep Apnea Information & Resources? from the University of Stanford website.
http://www.stanford.edu/~dement/apnea.html
The article discusses the Physical & Mechanical therapy to control the
problem as well as Surgical Procedures. CPAP is the most common type
of non surgical procedure. Among surgical procedures,
Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP), Somnoplasty, Laser-assisted
uvulopalatoplasty (LAUP) and Tracheostomy are discusses in brief
detail.
General Statistics and Facts on Sleep Apnea
1. About 70 million Americans suffer from a sleep problem; nearly 60
percent of them have a chronic disorder,
2. The second most common sleep disorder is sleep apnea. Sleep apnea
affects about 18 million Americans.
3. Sleep apnea is associated with high blood pressure, coronary heart
disease, heart attack, pulmonary hypertension, congestive heart
failure, stroke, mental impairment, and injury from accidents,
4. Each year, sleep apnea accounts for about $42 million in hospital bills,
5. An estimated 200,000 people suffer from narcolepsy,
6. More than 50 percent of Americans aged 65 and older have a sleep problem,
7. The prevalence of sleep disorders appears to increase with
advancing age, and as 8. Americans age, an estimated 80 million
Americans will have a sleep problem by the year 2010.
8. Sleep disorders add an estimated $15.9 billion to the national
health care bill,
9. About 25 percent of American children aged 1-5 have a sleep disturbance.
>>> Excerpt taken from:
http://www.coloradohealthsite.org/sleep/sleep_defs.html. For more
information, please consult the Colorado Health Site webpage by
clicking on the link.
Snoring & Sleep Apnea Statistics
More statistics can be found at http://www.putanendtosnoring.com/stats.htm
Research & Scientific Studies on Sleep Apnea
Dr. K. Leon White maintains the most up to date website on the web for
Sleep Apnea and the latest research studies. Here is the address
http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Spa/4752/index.html
You may also want to consult his other website where patients chat
with him to discuss their problems regarding Sleep Apnea. The website
is:
TalkAboutSleep.com
http://www.talkaboutsleep.com/
(Please click on the link for a shortcut to Sleep Apnea section of the website)
http://www.talkaboutsleep.com/sleepdisorders/Snoring_apnea.htm
Be assured that these are the best websites for accessing the latest
research and scientific studies available on Sleep Apnea.
Success of Laser Surgery for Sleep Apnea
Laser surgery is generally known as Laser-assisted uvulopalatoplasty
(LAUP). Although, this procedure is considered a very good option to
treat snoring but it is known be less effective in the treatment of
sleep apnea. Please refer to the excerpt from the following websites:
Health & Age Website
http://www.healthandage.com/Home/gm=6!gid6=6510
?At this time, however, long-term success rates from LAUP are very
modest, particularly for reducing apneas. Some physicians, in fact,
are concerned that if LAUP eliminates snoring, then a diagnosis of
apnea may be missed in patients who have the more serious condition.
Common complications include throat dryness (over 50%). Throat
narrowing and scarring have been reported. In a minority of patients,
snoring becomes worse afterward.?
Sinus, Allergy & Asthma Center of Indiana
http://www.hnsaonline.com/palatal_surgery.htm
?LAUP results in eliminating or reducing snoring to a tolerable level
is excellent (75-90%), and its results in the treatment of OSAS can be
good, but it does not accomplish quite the same thing as the UPPP. As
such, it is not thought by most physicians to be as effective as UPPP
in the treatment of significant OSAS. Most surgeons feel that LAUP
should be limited to patients with non-apneic snoring or milder sleep
apnea (e.g., RDI < 20 with lowest O2 saturation > 85%).?
Dr. Daniel I. Loube on the technological advancement in the treatment
of Sleep Apnea.
http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Spa/4752/page204.html
?Reduction of the soft palate, uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP), once
done routinely with a scalpel, now may be performed in new ways that
allow local anesthesia and outpatient surgery. These include
laser-assisted uvulopalatoplasty (LAUP), cautery-assisted palatal
stiffening operation (CAPSO), and radiofrequency energy (Somnoplasty).
However, all appear to share the drawback of insufficient therapeutic
effects on OSA, as measured by reduction of the Apnea Hypopnea Index
(AHI), one common criterion for success being a 50% reduction in AHI.
This often modest reduction in OSA (still not enough to yield a normal
AHI in many cases) may benefit only one-third or less of patients
undergoing this type of surgery, generally considered a poor result.?
National Library of Medicine
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9775293&dopt=Abstract
?Our ongoing evaluation of the results of laser assisted
uvulopalatoplasty (LAUP) for snoring is presented. Follow-up between
18 and 24 months post-treatment completion, of patients with a
successful result at six months, reveals that 22 per cent of these
patients suffer failure of snoring control between these two
evaluation points. This equates to an overall success rate at this
time of 55 per cent. LAUP, like other surgical remedies for snoring,
has a continued relapse rate. This must be considered when counseling
patients.?
Article by Dr. Timothy A. Queen
http://www.vaentallergy.com/injection_snoreplasty.htm
?These modifications include laser-assisted uvulopalatoplasty (LAUP),
radio-frequency uvulopalatoplasty (RFUP), and radio-frequency palatal
ablation (RFPA). The first two involve physically removing tissue
from the uvula and soft palate through heat generated either by CO2
laser or radio waves. The latter involves shrinking the uvula and
soft palate by applying heat generated by radio waves. Since there is
no cutting or removal of tissue, the radio-frequency palatal ablation
is the least painful of the three procedures and heals the quickest.
All of these procedures have some degree of success (40-90%) and all
have a recurrence rate of at least twenty percent.?
Health Connections
http://www.healthyconnections.com/ent/trtmnt/snore_apnea.html
?Many devices and procedures have been recommended for snoring. One of
the most promising treatments is the laser procedure (LAUP) provides a
90% success rate.?
Will Laser Surgery cure Sleep Apnea?
Here is an interesting article on this topic by Yehuda Finkelstein, a
researcher at Sapir Medical Center in Israel.
http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/XJ&sdn=sleepdisorders&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fmy.webmd.com%2Fcontent%2Farticle%2F24%2F1836_51056%3Fz%3D1728_00000_1000_In_04
Another related article:
http://preventdisease.com/news/articles/laser_sleep_apnea.shtml
Which is the best method of treating Sleep Apnea?
It depends on the severity of Sleep Apnea. Please click on the
following link to see what method may suit you.
http://www.apneos.com/treatable.html
Centers for treating Sleep Apnea
Here are some of the nation?s top institutions for sleep apnea and
sleep order problems:
Stanford University Medical Center
http://www.stanfordhospital.com/clinicsmedServices/clinics/otolaryngology/entClinic.html
University of Pennsylvania Health Systems
http://pennhealth.com/services.html
Northwestern Medical Hospital
http://www.nmh.org/services/outpatient_services/sleep_disorders_center.html
University of Iowa
http://www.uihealthcare.com/depts/med/neurology/patients/sleepdisorder.html
Directory of Sleep disorder centers
http://www.stanford.edu/~dement/centers.html
You can also check the rankings of US ear, nose and throat departments
at the following webpage:
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/health/hosptl/rankings/specihqotol.htm
Useful Search Strategy:
Sleep disorder hospital department
?< http://www.gogole.com/search?q=Sleep+disorder+hospital+department&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&btnG=Google+Search>?
Sleep apnea "laser surgery"
?< http://www.gogole.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=sleep+apnea+%22laser+surgery%22&btnG=Google+Search
>?
I hope this will help you.
Sincerely,
Leader-ga. |
