Teaching The Brain To Overcome Sleep Apnea

February 3, 2011

New research from the University of Toronto could provide some restful nights

for the 18 million North Americans who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea.

In a recent study that appeared in the Journal of Neuroscience, scientists from

the University demonstrated that repeated obstruction of the airways requires

release of the brain chemical noradrenaline. The release of this chemical helps

the brain learn to breathe more effectively and purposefully.

" What we showed is that repeated disruption of normal lung activity - what

happens during sleep apnea - triggers a form of learning that helps you breathe

better. This type of brain plasticity could be harnessed to help overcome the

breathing insufficiency that typifies sleep apnea " says Dr. Peever,

Associate Professor of neuroscience and lead author of the study.

In order to mimic the experience of severe sleep apnea, the scientists induced

short 15 second apneas in sedated rats by repeatedly restricting airflow into

the lungs. They found repeated apneas caused the brain to progressively trigger

more forceful contraction of the respiratory muscles, which caused an increase

in breathing. This increase in breathing lasted for over an hour.

Peever says it seems the brain is using the unwanted side-effects of sleep apnea

to help it learn to prevent future apneas by increasing the depth of breathing.

This study also pinpointed the brain chemical that allows this type of

plasticity to occur. They found that noradrenaline is required in the case of

repeated apneas to cause brain plasticity and enhance breathing.

These findings are important because they suggest that artificial manipulation

with common drugs that affect noradrenaline levels in the brain could also help

improve breathing in patients suffering from sleep apnea. This work could serve

as the potential basis for developing the long sought after pill for sleep

apnea.

Source: University of Toronto

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