title: Primary sleep apnoea syndrome.
abstract: Polygraphic study in 18 men with the sleep apnoea syndrome showed central, upper airway obstructive, and mixed apnoeas. Fifty per cent of the total apnoea time was central, 33% was obstructive, and 17% was mixed. Apnoeic episodes were accompanied by oxygen desaturation, relative bradycardia and hypotonia of orofacial muscles innervated by ponto-medullary neurons. During regular breathing these muscles revealed tonic and phasic inspiratory EMG activities. The data suggest that the primary sleep apnoea syndrome results from a dysfunction of the central control of breathing.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000402:Airway Obstruction / Q000503:physiopathology; D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004576:Electromyography; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000503:physiopathology; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D012119:Respiration; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012894:Sleep Stages / Q000502:physiology