HAIFA, Israel and NEW YORK, N.Y., April 27, 2002 -- Sleep apnea, a disorder characterized by the temporary cessation of breathing during sleep, displays the same cellular and biochemical changes that are found in atherosclerosis, a disease in which the walls of the arteries thicken, harden, and lose elasticity, resulting in impaired blood circulation.
The study explains why those who suffer from sleep apnea -- which affects as many as 18 million people in the United States alone, particularly men over age 35 -- also have cardiovascular problems.
The findings of the study, led by biochemist Lena Lavie of the Faculty of Medicine at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, are published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (April 1, 2002).
"We found that white blood cells of sleep apnea patients show a large increase in the amount of adhesion molecules that appear on the surface of the cells. These molecules are responsible for the atherogenic processes that thicken artery walls," said Dr. Lavie, who headed the study with colleagues Larissa Dyugovskaya and Peretz Lavie. "We also saw these white blood cells produced more free radicals, which damage the endothelial cells lining the vessel walls, which, in turn, play a crucial role in maintaining healthy blood vessels, and therefore also contribute to the formation of atherosclerosis."
Dr. David White, director of the Sleep Disorders Program at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, praised the study.
"This study is an important step forward because the Technion researchers have put together the components needed to explain at least some of the predisposition of apnea patients to vascular disease at the cellular level," said Dr. White.
"There are good data indicating that obstructive sleep apnea leads to adverse cardiovascular outcomes including stroke, congestiv
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Contact: Martha Molnar
martha@ats.org
212-307-2580
American Society for Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
2-Apr-2002