obtructive sleep apnea

The carotid bodies are the principal sensory organs for detecting changes in arterial blood oxygen concentration, and the carotid body chemoreflex is a major regulator of the sympathetic tone, blood pressure and breathing. Intermittent hypoxia is a hallmark manifestation of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), which is a widespread respiratory disorder. The first part of this review discuss the role of carotid bodies in heightened sympathetic tone and hypertension in rodents treated with intermittent hypoxia, and the underlying cellular, molecular, and epigenetic mechanisms...

Obtructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) is a common disorder in the general population with an estimated prevalence in an adult population of 2% in women and 4% in men. Although several studies have suggested that headaches, particularly morning headaches, are more common in patients with OSAS than in normal subjects, others have yielded contradictory findings. When the sleep-related breathing disorder was treated with success, the headache generally disappeared, supporting a causal role of the sleep disorder for headache...