title: An animal model of obstructive sleep apnea in rabbit.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  An animal model of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may help to investigate the pathophysiology of this disorder and develop appropriate treatments. We investigated the feasibility of a rabbit model of OSA.
  
  
  METHODS
  Animal study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twelve New Zealand white rabbits were injected at the base of their tongues under endoscopic guidance with liquid silicone (experimental group, n = 6) or normal saline (control group, n = 6). Polysomnography was performed before and after injection. The development of OSA and changes in sleep parameters were compared between the two groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Before injection, all rabbits showed normal breathing during sleep without hypopnea. In the silicone group, the rabbits had a mean of 29.9 ± 6.9 hypopneas/hour and a mean of 10.4 ± 3.1 apneas/hour 1 month after silicone injection and 28.4 ± 6.9 hypopneas/hour and 10.0 ± 3.3 apneas/hour 3 months after silicone injection (P < 0.05). Mean total sleep time decreased from 260.3 ± 70.2 minutes at baseline to 152.5 ± 38.8 minutes 1 month and 206.8 ± 60.3 minutes 3 months after injection, with a decrease in stage II sleep. In the saline group, however, there were no breathing events during sleep.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results show that silicone injections into the tongue base of rabbits can result in OSA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Konkuk University Chungju Hospital, Konkuk University School of Medicine, Chungju.
authors.forename: Myeong S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Na R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Kyoung H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Kuiwon
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Bong-Jae
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Yoo-Sam
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Chung
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D017286:Polysomnography / Q000379:methods; D011817:Rabbits; D011897:Random Allocation; D012016:Reference Values; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012828:Silicones / Q000494:pharmacology; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000503:physiopathology*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014059:Tongue / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D012828:Silicones
keywords: Rabbit; animal model; obstructive sleep apnea; sleep