Reducing Heart Failure Re-admissions by Enhancing Sleep Apnea Treatment Adherence
Congestive Heart FailureSleep Apnea SyndromesSleep apnea, characterized by abnormal breathing at night, is often untreated in patients with heart failure. Helping patients to effectively use the most common form of treatment for sleep apnea, positive airway pressure therapy, can improve their heart function. This can reduce the likelihood that the patient will be re-admitted to the hospital. AirCareLabs has developed an innovative solution that allows patients to communicate with health care providers 24 hours a day, thus allowing them to get the help they need to effectively use positive airway pressure and thereby reduce the risk of being re-admitted to the hospital.
Sleep Apnea Video Education for CPAP (SAVE-CPAP)
Obstructive Sleep ApneaThe purpose of this study is to determine how satisfied patients are when undergoing an overnight polysomnogram (sleep study), what their knowledge about sleep apnea is, and what factors affect obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) treatment use.
Impact of Intrathecal Morphine on Sleep Apnea Syndrome
Sleep Apnea SyndromesIntrathecal morphine is commonly used as an analgesic adjunct for hip arthroplasty performed under spinal anaesthesia. Sleep apnea syndrome is a condition that affects up to 10% of the patients. Effect of intrathecal hydrophilic opioids on the frequency and duration of apneic episodes is unknown. The objective of this randomised controlled trial is to investigate the effect of intrathecal morphine and surgery on apneic episodes.
Mechanisms of Pharyngeal Collapse in Sleep Apnea, Study B
Sleep ApneaIn obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), the upper airway recurrently closes during sleep. The mechanisms that lead to airway closure are not completely understood. Some studies have shown that there is progressive narrowing of the pharyngeal airway across breaths during expiration (Progressive Expiratory Narrowing, PEN) preceding an obstructive apnea. The cause of PEN is unknown. The investigators will test if lung volumes and low respiratory drive play a role in PEN.
Impact Of Closure Of Patent Foramen Ovale On Apnoea-Hypopnoea-Index, Nocturnal Hypoxemia And Systemic...
Obstructive Sleep ApneaThe purpose of this study in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and concomitant patent foramen ovale (PFO) is to assess the impact of percutaneous PFO closure on nocturnal hypoxemia and apnea/hypopnea, pulmonary and systemic artery pressure, endothelial function and arterial stiffness.
Memory Consolidation in Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Obstructive Sleep ApneaThe overarching goal of the research proposed here is to test the hypothesis (i) that the pathophysiological mechanisms of OSA lead to deterioration in sleep-dependent memory consolidation across memory systems, with the genetic marker APOε4 as a modulator, and (ii) that CPAP can reverse some or all of these measured memory deficits. In addition, we are exploring which aspects of OSA (e.g., changes in sleep architecture, measures of hypoxemia, or the EEG power spectrum) most likely impact sleep-dependent memory processing.To this end, we are using specific cognitive tasks for which sleep-dependent memory consolidation processes have previously been demonstrated by our group and others. In addition, we are carrying out quantitative EEG power spectral analyses, to delineate abnormal functioning of brain regions with more precision.
Characterizing Upper Airway Collapse to Guide Patient Selection for Oral Appliance Therapy for Obstructive...
Sleep ApneaObstructiveObstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is characterized by collapse of one or more pharyngeal structures during sleep (velum, tongue base, lateral walls, epiglottis). Structure-specific therapies for OSA have emerged as alternatives to positive airway pressure (PAP). Oral appliance (OA) therapy is increasingly being indicated for OSA treatment, although a complete response occurs in approximately 50% of patients. In general, OA devices are designed to maintain the mandible and/or tongue in a protruded posture during sleep, preventing upper airway obstruction. Limited studies in awake or sedated patients have demonstrated the effects of mandibular advancement on aspects of pharyngeal structure and function. The objective of the proposed research is to fully characterize upper airway collapse in OSA patients during natural sleep and use this information to understand why some patients appear to exhibit a large improvement in pharyngeal collapsibility whereas others do not.
Endothelial Function in Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Obstructive Sleep Apnea of AdultObstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a condition that affects a quarter of the Western adults, triples the risk for cardiovascular diseases and increases all-cause mortality. Intermittent hypoxia (IH) during transient cessation of breathing in OSA leads to endothelial inflammation, a key step in the initiation and progression of cardiovascular disease. However, the mechanisms that mediate IH-induced endothelial inflammation remain unclear and, consequently, no targeted therapy is available for vascular manifestations of OSA. Using endothelial cells (ECs) freshly harvested from OSA patients, they study team has identified impaired complement inhibition as an initial stimulus for endothelial inflammation in IH, thereby linking for the first time complement activation to vascular risk in OSA. The investigators found that a major complement inhibitor cluster of differentiation (CD59), a plasma membrane protein that inhibits the formation of the terminal complement membrane attack complex (MAC) and protects host cells from complement injury, is internalized from the EC surface in OSA patients. Consequent MAC deposition initiates endothelial inflammation in IH. Importantly, the investigators showed that IH does not significantly affect inflammation in ECs in the absence of complement, suggesting that complement activation has an essential role in endothelial inflammation in OSA. Interestingly, internalization of CD59 in IH appears to be cholesterol-dependent and statins prevent MAC deposition on ECs in IH in a CD59-dependent manner, suggesting a novel therapeutic strategy to reduce vascular risk in OSA. This led the study team to hypothesize that IH-induced cellular cholesterol accumulation reduces complement inhibition via increased internalization of CD59 from the EC surface leading to increased MAC deposition, and that treatment of OSA with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and/or statins reverses endothelial dysfunction by restoring complement inhibition.
A Study for Obstructive Sleep Apnea Using a New At-Home Sleep Test
Obstructive Sleep ApneaThe purpose of the study is to test the workflow of an auto-titrating mandibular positioner in its intended setting. Participants with obstructive sleep apnea will use the device to determine their eligibility for oral appliance therapy and provide feedback on usability of the device.
Safety Monitoring for a Novel 3D Printed Mandibular Advancement Device
Obstructive Sleep ApneaThe purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety profile of the novel oral appliance (OA )device and to assess patient comfort of the novel OA device.