Effect of episodic hypoxia on upper airway mechanics in humans during NREM sleep

2002 ◽  
Vol 92 (6) ◽  
pp. 2565-2570 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahdi Shkoukani ◽  
Mark A. Babcock ◽  
M. Safwan Badr
Keyword(s):  
Minute Ventilation ◽  
Recovery Period ◽  
Control Period ◽  
Upper Airway ◽  
Nrem Sleep ◽  
Normal Subjects ◽  
Hypoxic Exposure ◽  
Airway Mechanics ◽  
Episodic Hypoxia ◽  
Long Term Facilitation

We hypothesized that long-term facilitation (LTF) is due to decreased upper airway resistance (Rua). We studied 11 normal subjects during stable non-rapid eye movement sleep. We induced brief isocapnic hypoxia (inspired O2fraction = 8%) (3 min) followed by 5 min of room air. This sequence was repeated 10 times. Measurements were obtained during control, hypoxia, and at 20 min of recovery (R20) for ventilation, timing, and Rua. In addition, nine subjects were studied in a sham study with no hypoxic exposure. During the episodic hypoxia study, inspiratory minute ventilation (V˙i) increased from 7.1 ± 1.8 l/min during the control period to 8.3 ± 1.8 l/min at R20 (117% of control; P < 0.05). Conversely, there was no change in diaphragmatic electromyogram (EMGdia) between control (16.1 ± 6.9 arbitrary units) and R20 (15.3 ± 4.9 arbitrary units) (95% of control; P > 0.05). In contrast, increasedV˙i was associated with decreased Rua from 10.7 ± 7.5 cmH2O · l−1 · s during control to 8.2 ± 4.4 cmH2O · l−1 · s at R20 (77% of control; P < 0.05). No change was noted in V˙i, Rua, or EMGdia during the recovery period relative to control during the sham study. We conclude the following: 1) increased V˙i in the recovery period is indicative of LTF, 2) the lack of increased EMGdia suggests lack of LTF to the diaphragm, 3) reduced Rua suggests LTF of upper airway dilators, and 4) increased V˙i in the recovery period is due to “unloading” of the upper airway by LTF of upper airway dilators.

Effect of age on long-term facilitation and chemosensitivity during NREM sleep

2015 ◽  
Vol 119 (10) ◽  
pp. 1088-1096 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susmita Chowdhuri ◽  
Sukanya Pranathiageswaran ◽  
Rene Franco-Elizondo ◽  
Arunima Jayakar ◽  
Arwa Hosni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Minute Ventilation ◽  
Recovery Period ◽  
Nrem Sleep ◽  
Elderly Adults ◽  
Healthy Elderly ◽  
Respiratory Plasticity ◽  
Central Apneas ◽  
Long Term Facilitation

The reason for increased sleep-disordered breathing with a predominance of central apneas in the elderly is unknown. We speculate that ventilatory control instability may provide a link between aging and the onset of unstable breathing during sleep. We sought to investigate potential underlying mechanisms in healthy, elderly adults during sleep. We hypothesized that there is 1) a decline in respiratory plasticity or long-term facilitation (LTF) of ventilation and/or 2) increased ventilatory chemosensitivity in older adults during non-, this should be hyphenated, non-rapid rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. Fourteen elderly adults underwent 15, 1-min episodes of isocapnic hypoxia (EH), nadir O2saturation: 87.0 ± 0.8%. Measurements were obtained during control, hypoxia, and up to 20 min of recovery following the EH protocol, respectively, for minute ventilation (VI), timing, and inspiratory upper-airway resistances (RUA). The results showed the following. 1) Compared with baseline, there was a significant increase in VI(158 ± 11%, P < 0.05) during EH, but this was not accompanied by augmentation of VIduring the successive hypoxia trials nor in VIduring the recovery period (94.4 ± 3.5%, P = not significant), indicating an absence of LTF. There was no change in inspiratory RUAduring the trials. This is in contrast to our previous findings of respiratory plasticity in young adults during sleep. Sham studies did not show a change in any of the measured parameters. 2) We observed increased chemosensitivity with increased isocapnic hypoxic ventilatory response and hyperoxic suppression of VIin older vs. young adults during NREM sleep. Thus increased chemosensitivity, unconstrained by respiratory plasticity, may explain increased periodic breathing and central apneas in elderly adults during NREM sleep.

scholarly journals Determinants of long-term facilitation in humans during NREM sleep

2003 ◽  
Vol 94 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Babcock ◽  
Mahdi Shkoukani ◽  
Salah E. Aboubakr ◽  
M. Safwan Badr
Keyword(s):  
Minute Ventilation ◽  
Linear Regression Analysis ◽  
Recovery Period ◽  
Control Period ◽  
Inspiratory Flow ◽  
Flow Limitation ◽  
Peripheral Chemoreceptor ◽  
Long Term Facilitation ◽  
Independent Determinant

Long-term facilitation (LTF) is a prolonged increase in ventilatory motor output after episodic peripheral chemoreceptor stimulation. We have previously shown that LTF is activated during sleep following repetitive hypoxia in snorers (Babcock MA and Badr MS. Sleep 21: 709–716, 1998). The purpose of this study was 1) to ascertain the relative contribution of inspiratory flow limitation to the development of LTF and 2) to determine the effect of eliminating inspiratory flow limitation by nasal CPAP on LTF. We studied 25 normal subjects during stable non-rapid eye movement sleep. We induced 10 episodes of brief repetitive isocapnic hypoxia (inspired O2 fraction = 8%; 3 min) followed by 5 min of room air. Measurements were obtained during control and at 20 min of recovery (R20). During the episodic hypoxia study, inspiratory minute ventilation (V˙i) increased from 6.7 ± 1.9 l/min during the control period to 8.2 ± 2.7 l/min at R20 (122% of control; P < 0.05). Linear regression analysis confirmed that inspiratory flow limitation during control was the only independent determinant of the presence of LTF ( P = 0.005). Six subjects were restudied by using nasal continuous positive airway pressure to ascertain the effect of eliminating inspiratory flow limitation on LTF.V˙i during the recovery period was 97 ± 10% ( P > 0.05). In conclusion, 1) repetitive hypoxia in sleeping humans is followed by increasedV˙i in the recovery period, indicative of development of LTF; 2) inspiratory flow limitation is the only independent determinant of posthypoxic LTF in sleeping human; 3) elimination of inspiratory flow limitation abolished the ventilatory manifestations of LTF; and 4) we propose that increased V˙i in the recovery period was a result of preferential recruitment of upper airway dilators by repetitive hypoxia.

Long-term facilitation of ventilation and genioglossus muscle activity is evident in the presence of elevated levels of carbon dioxide in awake humans

2006 ◽  
Vol 291 (4) ◽  
pp. R1111-R1119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel P. Harris ◽  
Arvind Balasubramaniam ◽  
M. Safwan Badr ◽  
Jason H. Mateika
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Muscle Activity ◽  
Control Experiment ◽  
Minute Ventilation ◽  
Recovery Period ◽  
Genioglossus Muscle ◽  
Healthy Humans ◽  
Episodic Hypoxia ◽  
Long Term Facilitation

We hypothesized that long-term facilitation (LTF) of minute ventilation and peak genioglossus muscle activity manifests itself in awake healthy humans when carbon dioxide is sustained at elevated levels. Eleven subjects completed two trials. During trial 1, baseline carbon dioxide levels were maintained during and after exposure to eight 4-min episodes of hypoxia. During trial 2, carbon dioxide was sustained 5 mmHg above baseline levels during exposure to episodic hypoxia. Seven subjects were exposed to sustained elevated levels of carbon dioxide in the absence of episodic hypoxia, which served as a control experiment. Minute ventilation was measured during trial 1, trial 2, and the control experiment. Peak genioglossus muscle activity was measured during trial 2. Minute ventilation during the recovery period of trial 1 was similar to baseline (9.3 ± 0.5 vs. 9.2 ± 0.7 l/min). Likewise, minute ventilation remained unchanged during the control experiment (beginning vs. end of control experiment, 14.4 ± 1.7 vs. 14.7 ± 1.4 l/min). In contrast, minute ventilation and peak genioglossus muscle activity during the recovery period of trial 2 was greater than baseline (minute ventilation: 28.4 ± 1.7 vs. 19.6 ± 1.0 l/min, P < 0.001; peak genioglossus activity: 1.6 ± 0.3 vs. 1.0 fraction of baseline, P < 0.001). We conclude that exposure to episodic hypoxia is necessary to induce LTF of minute ventilation and peak genioglossus muscle activity and that LTF is only evident in awake humans in the presence of sustained elevated levels of carbon dioxide.

Collapsibility of the human upper airway during normal sleep

1989 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 1800-1808 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Wiegand ◽  
C. W. Zwillich ◽  
D. P. White
Keyword(s):  
Minute Ventilation ◽  
Upper Airway ◽  
Nrem Sleep ◽  
Normal Subjects ◽  
Load Application ◽  
Resistive Load ◽  
Airway Collapsibility ◽  
Upper Airway Collapsibility ◽  
Small Increments ◽  
Normal Men

Upper airway resistance (UAR) increases in normal subjects during the transition from wakefulness to sleep. To examine the influence of sleep on upper airway collapsibility, inspiratory UAR (epiglottis to nares) and genioglossus electromyogram (EMG) were measured in six healthy men before and during inspiratory resistive loading. UAR increased significantly (P less than 0.05) from wakefulness to non-rapid-eye-movement (NREM) sleep [3.1 +/- 0.4 to 11.7 +/- 3.5 (SE) cmH2O.1–1.s]. Resistive load application during wakefulness produced small increments in UAR. However, during NREM sleep, UAR increased dramatically with loading in four subjects although two subjects demonstrated little change. This increment in UAR from wakefulness to sleep correlated closely with the rise in UAR during loading while asleep (e.g., load 12: r = 0.90, P less than 0.05), indicating consistent upper airway behavior during sleep. On the other hand, no measurement of upper airway behavior during wakefulness was predictive of events during sleep. Although the influence of sleep on the EMG was difficult to assess, peak inspiratory genioglossus EMG clearly increased (P less than 0.05) after load application during NREM sleep. Finally, minute ventilation fell significantly from wakefulness values during NREM sleep, with the largest decrement in sleeping minute ventilation occurring in those subjects having the greatest awake-to-sleep increment in UAR (r = -0.88, P less than 0.05). We conclude that there is marked variability among normal men in upper airway collapsibility during sleep.

Upper airway muscle responsiveness to rising Pco 2 during NREM sleep

2000 ◽  
Vol 89 (4) ◽  
pp. 1275-1282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giora Pillar ◽  
Atul Malhotra ◽  
Robert B. Fogel ◽  
Josee Beauregard ◽  
David I. Slamowitz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Muscle Activation ◽  
Slow Wave Sleep ◽  
Minute Ventilation ◽  
Upper Airway ◽  
Nrem Sleep ◽  
Dilator Muscle ◽  
Pharyngeal Muscles ◽  
Stage 2 Sleep ◽  
Significant Change ◽  
End Tidal

Although pharyngeal muscles respond robustly to increasing Pco 2 during wakefulness, the effect of hypercapnia on upper airway muscle activation during sleep has not been carefully assessed. This may be important, because it has been hypothesized that CO2-driven muscle activation may importantly stabilize the upper airway during stages 3 and 4 sleep. To test this hypothesis, we measured ventilation, airway resistance, genioglossus (GG) and tensor palatini (TP) electromyogram (EMG), plus end-tidal Pco 2(Pet CO2 ) in 18 subjects during wakefulness, stage 2, and slow-wave sleep (SWS). Responses of ventilation and muscle EMG to administered CO2(Pet CO2 = 6 Torr above the eupneic level) were also assessed during SWS ( n = 9) or stage 2 sleep ( n = 7). Pet CO2 increased spontaneously by 0.8 ± 0.1 Torr from stage 2 to SWS (from 43.3 ± 0.6 to 44.1 ± 0.5 Torr, P < 0.05), with no significant change in GG or TP EMG. Despite a significant increase in minute ventilation with induced hypercapnia (from 8.3 ± 0.1 to 11.9 ± 0.3 l/min in stage 2 and 8.6 ± 0.4 to 12.7 ± 0.4 l/min in SWS, P < 0.05 for both), there was no significant change in the GG or TP EMG. These data indicate that supraphysiological levels of Pet CO2 (50.4 ± 1.6 Torr in stage 2, and 50.4 ± 0.9 Torr in SWS) are not a major independent stimulus to pharyngeal dilator muscle activation during either SWS or stage 2 sleep. Thus hypercapnia-induced pharyngeal dilator muscle activation alone is unlikely to explain the paucity of sleep-disordered breathing events during SWS.

Effects of sleep state on ventilatory acclimatization to hypoxia in humans

1984 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 1089-1096 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. D. Berssenbrugge ◽  
J. A. Dempsey ◽  
J. B. Skatrud
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movement ◽  
Chronic Hypoxia ◽  
Minute Ventilation ◽  
Barometric Pressure ◽  
Nrem Sleep ◽  
Hypoxic Exposure ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Sleep State ◽  
Co2 Partial Pressure ◽  
Arterial O2 Saturation

We assessed the influence of sleep state on ventilatory acclimatization to hypoxia. Ventilation, arterial O2 saturation (SaO2), and arterial acid-base status were monitored in healthy adult males during wakefulness, nonrapid-eye-movement (NREM) sleep, and rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep in normoxia [barometric pressure (PB) = 740 Torr] and over 4 continuous days of hypobaric hypoxia (PB = 455 Torr). The relative hypoventilation observed during sleep compared with wakefulness in normoxia was also observed during all stages of hypoxic acclimatization. The characteristic time-dependent changes associated with acclimatization to chronic hypoxia were similar during wakefulness and all sleep states: 1) arterial CO2 partial pressure (PaCO2) decreased 27–31% by night 4 with approximately half of this fall occurring acutely (0.3–3 h hypoxia); 2) minute ventilation increased progressively with duration of hypoxic exposure including increased levels of hyperventilation throughout the initial night of sleep in hypoxia; 3) SaO2 was lowest acutely and gradually increased coincident with the progressive hyperventilation; and 4) pHa increased acutely and remained unchanged despite additional hyperventilation due to a compensatory reduction in [HCO3-]a. In addition, in the acclimatized subject hyperventilation persisted following acute restoration of normoxia, and this continued hyperventilation was similar in magnitude during both wakefulness and NREM sleep. These results indicate that suprapontine influences on ventilatory control associated with the state of wakefulness are not required in the process of ventilatory acclimatization to chronic hypoxia.

scholarly journals Compensatory responses to upper airway obstruction in obese apneic men and women

2012 ◽  
Vol 112 (3) ◽  
pp. 403-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chien-Hung Chin ◽  
Jason P. Kirkness ◽  
Susheel P. Patil ◽  
Brian M. McGinley ◽  
Philip L. Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sleep Apnea ◽  
Airway Obstruction ◽  
Rem Sleep ◽  
Minute Ventilation ◽  
Upper Airway ◽  
Nrem Sleep ◽  
Upper Airway Obstruction ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Compensatory Responses ◽  
Obstructive Sleep

Defective structural and neural upper airway properties both play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of obstructive sleep apnea. A more favorable structural upper airway property [pharyngeal critical pressure under hypotonic conditions (passive Pcrit)] has been documented for women. However, the role of sex-related modulation in compensatory responses to upper airway obstruction (UAO), independent of the passive Pcrit, remains unclear. Obese apneic men and women underwent a standard polysomnography and physiological sleep studies to determine sleep apnea severity, passive Pcrit, and compensatory airflow and respiratory timing responses to prolonged periods of UAO. Sixty-two apneic men and women, pairwise matched by passive Pcrit, exhibited similar sleep apnea disease severity during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, but women had markedly less severe disease during non-REM (NREM) sleep. By further matching men and women by body mass index and age ( n = 24), we found that the lower NREM disease susceptibility in women was associated with an approximately twofold increase in peak inspiratory airflow ( P = 0.003) and inspiratory duty cycle ( P = 0.017) in response to prolonged periods of UAO and an ∼20% lower minute ventilation during baseline unobstructed breathing (ventilatory demand) ( P = 0.027). Thus, during UAO, women compared with men had greater upper airway and respiratory timing responses and a lower ventilatory demand that may account for sex differences in sleep-disordered breathing severity during NREM sleep, independent of upper airway structural properties and sleep apnea severity during REM sleep.

Upper airway mechanics and post-hypoxic ventilatory decline during NREM sleep

2007 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 165-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. B. Halker ◽  
L. A. Pierchala ◽  
M. S. Badr
Keyword(s):  
Upper Airway ◽  
Nrem Sleep ◽  
Airway Mechanics

Effect Of Episodic Hypoxia On Upper Airway Resistance In Older Adults During NREM Sleep

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arunima Jayakar ◽  
Sukanya Pranathiageswaran ◽  
Simranjit Narula ◽  
M.S. Badr ◽  
Susmita Chowdhuri
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Airway Resistance ◽  
Upper Airway ◽  
Nrem Sleep ◽  
Upper Airway Resistance ◽  
Episodic Hypoxia

scholarly journals Effect of episodic hypoxia on the susceptibility to hypocapnic central apnea during NREM sleep

2010 ◽  
Vol 108 (2) ◽  
pp. 369-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susmita Chowdhuri ◽  
Irina Shanidze ◽  
Lisa Pierchala ◽  
Daniel Belen ◽  
Jason H. Mateika ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Ventilation ◽  
Ventilatory Response ◽  
Recovery Period ◽  
Positive Pressure ◽  
Central Apnea ◽  
Hypoxic Ventilatory Response ◽  
Episodic Hypoxia ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Long Term Facilitation

We hypothesized that episodic hypoxia (EH) leads to alterations in chemoreflex characteristics that might promote the development of central apnea in sleeping humans. We used nasal noninvasive positive pressure mechanical ventilation to induce hypocapnic central apnea in 11 healthy participants during stable nonrapid eye movement sleep before and after an exposure to EH, which consisted of fifteen 1-min episodes of isocapnic hypoxia (mean O2 saturation/episode: 87.0 ± 0.5%). The apneic threshold (AT) was defined as the absolute measured end-tidal Pco2 (PetCO2) demarcating the central apnea. The difference between the AT and baseline PetCO2 measured immediately before the onset of mechanical ventilation was defined as the CO2 reserve. The change in minute ventilation (V̇I) for a change in PetCO2 (ΔV̇I/ ΔPetCO2) was defined as the hypocapnic ventilatory response. We studied the eupneic PetCO2, AT PetCO2, CO2 reserve, and hypocapnic ventilatory response before and after the exposure to EH. We also measured the hypoxic ventilatory response, defined as the change in V̇I for a corresponding change in arterial O2 saturation (ΔV̇I/ΔSaO2) during the EH trials. V̇I increased from 6.2 ± 0.4 l/min during the pre-EH control to 7.9 ± 0.5 l/min during EH and remained elevated at 6.7 ± 0.4 l/min the during post-EH recovery period ( P < 0.05), indicative of long-term facilitation. The AT was unchanged after EH, but the CO2 reserve declined significantly from −3.1 ± 0.5 mmHg pre-EH to −2.3 ± 0.4 mmHg post-EH ( P < 0.001). In the post-EH recovery period, ΔV̇I/ΔPetCO2 was higher compared with the baseline (3.3 ± 0.6 vs. 1.8 ± 0.3 l·min−1·mmHg−1, P < 0.001), indicative of an increased hypocapnic ventilatory response. However, there was no significant change in the hypoxic ventilatory response (ΔV̇I/ΔSaO2) during the EH period itself. In conclusion, despite the presence of ventilatory long-term facilitation, the increase in the hypocapnic ventilatory response after the exposure to EH induced a significant decrease in the CO2 reserve. This form of respiratory plasticity may destabilize breathing and promote central apneas.

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