Genetic Sleep Apnea
Obstructive sleep apnea is a condition in which individuals experience pauses in breathing apnea during sleep which are associated with partial or complete closure of the throat pper airway. The development of model organisms for deciphering the molecular mechanisms of sleep and attempts to identify genetic underpinnings of human sleep disorders.
In this article we ll take a deep dive into the causes of sleep apnea and examine how genetics can play a factor.
Genetic sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a serious sleep disorder that occurs when a person s breathing is interrupted during sleep people with untreated sleep apnea stop breathing repeatedly during their sleep sometimes. Earlier genetic evidence of sleep apnea heritability discovered many overlapping genetic markers for obesity and apnea. 1 sleep health service respiratory and sleep services southern adelaide local health network adelaide south australia australia.
Mukherjee s 1 2 saxena r 3 4 palmer lj 5. Individuals with obstructive sleep apnea may experience interrupted sleep with. The genetics of sleep disorders.
Evidence looking at certain pieces of genetic code known as genetic loci related to sleep apnea identified that about half of the genetic variability associated with sleep apnea could be accounted for by obesity linked loci. Since sleep was recognized to be regulated genetically intense research has launched on two fronts. Sleep apnea can be caused by a person s physical structure or medical conditions.
Sleep apnea can be hereditary as many of the factors that influence whether or not a person is likely to develop sleep apnea are made up of things decided by family history. Sleep remains one of the least understood phenomena in biology even its role in synaptic plasticity remains debatable. The genetics of obstructive sleep apnoea.
These include obesity large tonsils endocrine disorders neuromuscular disorders heart or kidney failure certain genetic syndromes and premature birth. Obstructive sleep apnea is a common disorder associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease diabetes and premature mortality. Complete closure can lead to apnea while partial closure allows breathing but decrease the intake of oxygen hypopnea.
Although there is strong clinical and epidemiologic evidence supporting the importance of genetic factors in influencing obstructive sleep apnea its genetic basis is still largely unknown. Some of the underlying causes of central sleep apnea such as certain heart issues may have a genetic component however most of the causes do not and there s little evidence that central. 2 adelaide institute for sleep health flinders university adelaide south australia australia.
Research is underway to identify the gene or genes that place people at risk for sleep apnea an extreme form of snoring in which an individual s airway becomes partially or completely blocked.
