Could anyone be so kind as to furnish information on the causes, symptoms,
and treatment of sloop apnea.  My wife thinks she has it.
Thanks.

Ted Wyly

Sloop apnea is like sticker shock, only for boats!  Hyuck, hyuck, hyuck!
Heh.  Um, right, sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea is a condition in which the airway closes off during sleep.
Patients usually snore loudly but stop breathing periodically.  They
start again with a snort after a pause of several seconds up to more
than a minute.  It causes excessive daytime tiredness and increases the
risk of premature stroke and heart attack as well as accidental death if
left untreated.  Diagnosis is made by polysomnography, an overnight
sleep test during which time brain waves (for sleep staging),
respiratory patterns, oxygen saturation, muscle activity, and other
parameters are recorded.  If OSA is confirmed, nasal CPAP (continuous
positive airway pressure) is applied though a mask over the nose hooked
to a compressor, and the pressure adjusted.  CPAP inflates the upper
airway, preventing both the snoring and the apneas, and is the current
treatment of choice for this condition.  If your wife snores and is
tired during the day despite what seems like adequate sleep, contact
your local sleep disorders center to be evaluated by a sleep specialist.
In patients who are overweight, weight loss may eliminate the problem,
as may avoiding {*filter*} in the evenings.

David Nye, MD * Neurology Dept., Midelfort Clinic, Eau Claire, Wisconsin
The same week King's attackers got 30 months, a black college senior got
30 *years* for {*filter*} possession.  Something is dreadfully wrong here.

|>  
|> >Could anyone be so kind as to furnish information on the causes,
|> >symptoms, and treatment of sloop apnea.  My wife thinks she has it.
|>  
|> Sloop apnea is like sticker shock, only for boats!  Hyuck, hyuck, hyuck!
|> Heh.  Um, right, sleep apnea.
|>  
|> Sleep apnea is a condition in which the airway closes off during sleep.

     This is obstructive sleep apnea - the most common form.  It is, however, not
     the only form.  I have a diagnosis of central sleep apnea - a different but
     equally troubling dysfunction.

|> Patients usually snore loudly but stop breathing periodically.  They
|> start again with a snort after a pause of several seconds up to more
|> than a minute.  It causes excessive daytime tiredness and increases the
|> risk of premature stroke and heart attack as well as accidental death if
|> left untreated.  Diagnosis is made by polysomnography, an overnight
|> sleep test during which time brain waves (for sleep staging),
|> respiratory patterns, oxygen saturation, muscle activity, and other
|> parameters are recorded.  If OSA is confirmed, nasal CPAP (continuous
|> positive airway pressure) is applied though a mask over the nose hooked
|> to a compressor, and the pressure adjusted.  CPAP inflates the upper
|> airway, preventing both the snoring and the apneas, and is the current

     Is this the case for central sleep apnea as well?  I have been told by my
     neurologist that oxygen is a possible treatment but not the only one.  He
     mentioned Diamox as a possible drug treatment.

|> treatment of choice for this condition.  If your wife snores and is
|> tired during the day despite what seems like adequate sleep, contact
|> your local sleep disorders center to be evaluated by a sleep specialist.
|> In patients who are overweight, weight loss may eliminate the problem,
|> as may avoiding {*filter*} in the evenings.

     I am curious, are the treatment regimes for obstructive sleep apnea
     effective for central sleep apnea?  If so, how does the CPAP treatment
     circumvent the neural disruption that causes this form of apnea?

|>  
|> David Nye, MD * Neurology Dept., Midelfort Clinic, Eau Claire, Wisconsin
|> The same week King's attackers got 30 months, a black college senior got
|> 30 *years* for {*filter*} possession.  Something is dreadfully wrong here.