title: Physiological basis for a causal relationship of obstructive sleep apnoea to hypertension.
abstract: Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is causally related to systemic hypertension through sustained sympathoexcitation. The causes of this sympathoexcitation remain uncertain; however, substantial animal and human data suggest that cyclic intermittent hypoxia (CIH), as is experienced at night by patients with OSA, provides the causal link between upper airway obstruction during sleep and sympathetic activation during waking. Direct and indirect evidence indicates that CIH leads to sympathoexcitation by two mechanisms: (1) augmentation of peripheral chemoreflex sensitivity (hypoxic acclimatization); and (2) direct effects on sites of central sympathetic regulation, such as the subfornical organ and the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus. Initial reports suggest that the molecular mechanisms influencing peripheral chemoreflex sensitivity and central sympathetic activity may be the same, involving such neuromodulators as angiotensin II, endothelin and nitric oxide.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, GZ 405, 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA. jweiss@bidmc.harvard.edu
authors.forename: J Woodrow
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Weiss
authors.forename: M D Yuzhen
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Jianhua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002628:Chemoreceptor Cells / Q000503:physiopathology; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000150:complications / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D012018:Reflex; D012307:Risk Factors; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology*