A more expansive approach to obstructive sleep apnea: Multiple studies have linked poor sleep to cancer and other negative health outcomes; in Part 2 of a 2-part series, we explore how sleep apnea diagnostics and interventions have expanded to include more patients and new treatment options. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) often conjures up 2 familiar before-and-after images: the first is of an older, overweight man snoring loudly. The second is of a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine strapped to his head to alleviate the snoring and underlying blockage of the upper airway. As doctors and researchers are finding, however, the true range of patients and the expanding palette of treatment options have extend-ed far beyond these stereotypes. In OSA, temporary blockages of the airway by the tongue or collapsing throat muscles can lead to repeated bouts of breathing cessation and oxygen deprivation, as well as sleep fragmentation. Researchers are still piecing together the contributions of the temporary asphyxiation and hypoxemia, release of adrenaline during recovery breaths, and other physiological changes to a host of harmful downstream effects. Over the past decade, however, physicians like Fed-erico Cerrone, MD, medical director for Atlantic Health System's Sleep Centers in Morristown, New Jersey, say the field has made significant inroads in treating diagnosed cases.
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