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Review
. 2015 Apr;35(2):69-74.

Obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome: a new paradigm by chronic nocturnal intermittent hypoxia and sleep disruption

D M Toraldo  1 , F DE Nuccio  2 , M DE Benedetto  3 , E Scoditti  4
Affiliations
Review

Obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome: a new paradigm by chronic nocturnal intermittent hypoxia and sleep disruption

D M Toraldo et al. Acta Otorhinolaryngol Ital. 2015 Apr.

Abstract
in English, Italian

Obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) is associated with severe cerebro-cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. It is an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis, arterial thrombosis and metabolic syndrome, and recently has been associated with an increased incidence of cancer and death. A causal link between OSAS and atherosclerosis has been partially established. Recent research on atherosclerosis in OSAS has focused on thrombotic tendency and blood viscosity, providing new insight into disease mechanisms. Hypoxia is a critical pathophysiological element in OSAS that leads to intensive sympathetic activity, in association with inflammation, oxidative stress and procoagulant activity. Hypoxia and the induction of oxidative stress can simultaneously represent an underlying mechanism in the pathogenesis of cancer development and progression. This mini-review will discuss the latest findings on the association and potential relationship between OSA and pathological vascular sequelae.

La sindrome delle apnee ostruttive durante il sonno è associata ad un aumento della morbilità e mortalità cerebro-cardiovascolare. Si tratta di un fattore di rischio indipendente per aterosclerosi precoce, trombosi vascolare e sindrome metabolica e di recente è stata anche associata ad un aumento dell'incidenza di cancro. Un nesso di causalità tra OSAS ed aterosclerosi è parzialmente fondata ma non completamente chiarita. Una recente ricerca su aterosclerosi precoce in OSAS ha messo in correlazione la tendenza alla trombosi e la viscosità del sangue, fornendo una nuova visione dei meccanismi della malattia. L'ipossia intermittente notturna cronica tipica dell'OSAS insieme alle alterazioni macro e micro strutturali del sonno e la conseguente induzione ematica di stress ossidativo infiammatorio cronico cellulare con alterazioni genetiche possono contemporaneamente allo sviluppo di aterosclerosi precoce, rappresentare anche un meccanismo sottostante a lungo termine che induce atipie cellulari e patogenesi e progressione del cancro.

Keywords: Atherosclerosis; Cancer; Chronic intermittent hypoxia; Obstructive sleep apnoea; Sleep disruption.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Potential biological pathways mediating the development of atherosclerosis and cancer in sleep apnoea.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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