Philips Respironics ComfortGel Blue nasal mask is used in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).  Based on the company’s popular blue gel masks, this product is designed to help enhance patient comfort and compliance. 
 
Retaining the comfort and flexibility features found in previous gel masks, ComfortGel Blue incorporates several new features to make it the next generation of comfort and technology.  Included in this new product are an improved forehead pad designed to help reduce pressure points, a lower profile exhalation port with an integrated swivel that quietly directs air flow up and away from a bed partner, and a new gel cushion that gently conforms to facial features.  Used together with Philips Respironics System One Resistance Control, the mask will help deliver optimum PAP therapy and comfort. Read the rest of this entry

Overweight in children is most commonly described by using BMI. Because BMI does not adequately describe regional (central) adiposity, other indices of body fatness are being explored.

Neck circumference (NC) is positively associated with obstructive sleep apnea, diabetes, and hypertension in adults. NC also has positive correlation with BMI in adults. The possible role of NC in screening for high BMI in children is not well characterized. Read the rest of this entry

Clinic-based observational studies in men have reported that obstructive sleep apnea is associated with an increased incidence of coronary heart disease. The objective of this study was to assess the relation of obstructive sleep apnea to incident coronary heart disease and heart failure in a general community sample of adult men and women.

A total of 1927 men and 2495 women 40 years of age and free of coronary heart disease and heart failure at the time of baseline polysomnography were followed up for a median of 8.7 years in this prospective longitudinal epidemiological study. Read the rest of this entry

Nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) can cause undesirable nasal symptoms such as congestion to obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) patients, which symptoms can be attenuated by the addition of heated humidification.

However, neither the nature of nasal symptoms nor the effect of heated humidification on nasal pathophysiology and pathology are convincingly known.

 Twenty patients with OSA on nasal CPAP who exhibited symptomatic nasal obstruction were randomized to receive either 3 weeks of CPAP treatment with heated humidification or 3 weeks of CPAP treatment with sham-heated humidification, followed by 3 weeks of the opposite treatment, respectively. Read the rest of this entry

 Patients with neuromuscular disease (NMD) are at risk of developing sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) following respiratory muscle involvement. The researchers hypothesised that a questionnaire based on clinical symptoms and signs of diaphragm weakness can be used to screen for SDB in such patients.  

Researchers developed a self-administered multiple choice questionnaire containing five questions (SiNQ-5), scoring 0–10 points. 125 patients were enroled, 32 with respiratory muscle weakness, 35 subjects with normal respiratory muscle strength, and 58 patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). All subjects underwent full polysomnography. ^{Read the rest of this entry}

Obstructive sleep apnea has been related to increased cardiovascular risk. A recent research study examined the relationships between respiratory parameters and left ventricular abnormalities in obstructive sleep apnea.

One hundred and fifty newly diagnosed OSA patients without any known cardiovascular disease were included (age =49±11 years, BMI =27.1±3.3 kg·m^–2, respiratory disturbance index =41±18/h). Haemodynamic, biological, respiratory, cardiac and arterial parameters were assessed at inclusion. ^{Read the rest of this entry}

Sleep related disorders (SRD) represent an important health burden and their prevalence increases with age.

In patients with snoring or sleepiness, the presence of expiratory flow limitation (EFL) using the Negative Expiratory Pressure (NEP) method is related to the Apnea/Hypopnea Index (AHI). In this study we examined whether EFL can be used to predict the obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in healthy asymptomatic older subjects. Read the rest of this entry

A research study was concluded recently to estimate the population prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in an urban community of German third graders and the diagnostic test accuracy of two OSA screening methods.

Using a cross-sectional study design with a multi-stage sampling strategy, 27 out of 59 primary schools within the city limits of Hannover, Germany, were selected. One-thousand and forty-four (1044)  third graders were screened for symptoms of Sleep Apnea along with Symptoms and signs of OSA using questionnaires and nocturnal home pulse oximetry. Read the rest of this entry

To compare the sleep-disordered breathing prevalence among Hispanic and white Americans and Japanese, the researchers performed a one-night sleep study with a single channel airflow monitor on 211 Hispanics and 246 whites from the Minnesota Field Center of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA), and 978 Japanese from three community-based cohorts of the Circulatory Risk in Communities Study (CIRCS) in Japan. Read the rest of this entry

One of the most common health disorders among people around the world is “sleep apnea”. In its simplest sense ‘sleep apnea’ can be understood as one or more pauses in normal breathing. In many cases the shallow breathing during sleep is also termed as ‘sleep apnea’.

A pause in normal breathing during sleep may have an undefined duration. Meaning thereby, the pause could be for a few seconds only or it can even stretch up to few minutes.

Similarly, the rate of occurrence of such pauses during sleep may also vary up to great ranges. It could be five times per hour or even up to 30 times an hour. Normal breathing generally starts immediately after such a pause but this re-start could generate a snoring or choking sound as well. Read the rest of this entry

A recently concluded  research study established that the patients denied bariatric surgery by their insurer developed a host of new obesity-related diseases and conditions including Type 2 diabetes, hypertension and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) , within three years. 

Another study on insurers, showed that patients on insurance-mandated diet programs for six months before bariatric surgery did no better than patients with no such insurance requirement. However, patients on these programs had to wait, on average, about four months longer for surgery. 

Findings of this new research study were presented at the 27th annual scientific meeting of the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) recently.

The aim was to test the hypothesis that the blood serum of rats subjected to recurrent airway obstructions mimicking obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) induces early activation of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) and enhancement of endothelial wound healing.

Methods

We studied 30 control rats and 30 rats subjected to recurrent obstructive apneas (60 per hour, lasting 15 s each, for 5 h). The migration induced in MSC by apneic serum was measured by transwell assays. Read the rest of this entry

Medical device report, “The Future of Anesthesia and Respiratory Devices, Competitive Landscape and Forecasts to 2016 – Home and Self Care Respiratory Devices Presenting Growth Avenues” provides key data, information and analysis on the global anesthesia and respiratory devices market. Read the rest of this entry

If you have the disorder, you’re not breathing properly while you sleep because your airflow is blocked repeatedly throughout the night. Nearly one in four men and one in ten women suffer from it. (There are a couple of other varieties, but OSA is the most common.) And it goes hand-in-hand with type 2 diabetes. In a survey on the subject, Gary D. Foster, PhD, wrote that, “among all of the sleep disorders, OSA has the strongest association with type 2 diabetes.”  That’s even taking into account other risk factors, such as weight, sex and age.

The main risk factor for OSA is obesity. “Excess weight deposits extra fat around the thorax, reducing chest compliance and functional capacity, while increasing oxygen demand,” wrote Foster, a professor of medicine and public health and the Director of the Center for Obesity Research and Education at Temple University. Read the rest of this entry

[Press Release]- Graymark Healthcare Inc. the nation’s second largest provider of diagnostic sleep services and an innovator in comprehensive care for obstructive sleep apnea today announced that it sold a record number of CPAP machines in Q2 providing relief to over 750 patients. In addition they served over 1275 patients through their CPAP re-supply service.

Graymark Healthcare has been pioneering better techniques for ensuring that patients diagnosed with Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) are quickly and effectively treated in an effort to optimize clinical outcomes. Graymark has driven improved patient compliance with CPAP care and overall disease management by integrating the diagnostic and treatment processes.

“In Q4 of 2009 we at Graymark Healthcare announced the launch of our comprehensive care model aimed at improving the conversion rate of patients diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea to successful care with a CPAP device. We have seen consistent month over month growth in our therapy services this year and had record patient therapy volumes in Q2. We expect continued momentum through Q3 and associated strong performance,” said Stanton Nelson, Chairman and CEO of Graymark Healthcare. “We believe that our revolutionary comprehensive care model better serves our patients and is more cost effective than the fragmented care provided in other settings. Additionally, our re-supply program ensures that our patients are contacted no less than quarterly and that we can continue to work with them to improve their CPAP experience,” added Nelson. Read the rest of this entry