SCOR in Neurobiology of Sleep--Intermediate Traits for Sleep Apnea

NCT ID: NCT00005511

Last Updated: 2016-01-20

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Study Classification: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Start Date: 1998-09-30

Brief Summary

To determine intermediate traits for sleep apnea in a case-control study.

Detailed Description

BACKGROUND:

Sleep apnea is a common condition that affects 4 percent of middle-aged males and 2 percent of middle-aged females. There is recent evidence that there is a genetic influence because first degree relatives of patients with this disorder have an increased risk of having obstructive sleep apnea. The basis for this increased familial risk is undefined. The investigators postulated that there were three specific intermediate traits, each of which reduced upper airway size, thereby increasing the risk of sleep apnea. These intermediate traits included: a) particular distribution of fat in the neck; b) craniofacial structure; and c) size of critical soft tissues in the airway (soft palate, tongue, lateral pharyngeal walls). All of these risk factors could be assessed quantitatively using advanced magnetic resonance imaging and novel volumetric image analysis techniques that had been developed..

The study was one project within a Specialized Center of Research in Neurobiology of Sleep and Sleep Apnea.

DESIGN NARRATIVE:

The case-control study identified the structural risk factors for sleep apnea. The study was complemented by studies in siblings of the patients and controls in order to identify those traits that demonstrated family aggregation not explained by shared environmental factors. The investigators believed that these structural risk factors would interact to increase the risk of sleep apnea. The elucidation of upper airway structural risk factors should provide the basis for developing new, more effective techniques for screening patients for sleep apnea and provide the basis for performing future DNA analyses aimed at identifying the genetic loci for these risk factors.

The specific aims were: 1) to quantify upper airway craniofacial structure, soft tissues and regional fat deposition using three dimensional magnetic resonance imaging in order to determine the intermediate traits associated with obstructive sleep apnea utilizing a case control design in normals and apneics; and 2) to determine the upper airway structural risk factors for sleep apnea that demonstrated family aggregation and were most likely to have a genetic component by comparing probands, siblings of probands, neighborhood controls and siblings of neighborhood controls. The resources included an extensive clinical sleep practice, sophisticated NM imaging techniques, novel volumetric computer graphics image analysis and expertise in molecular epidemiology, craniofacial structure, and the genetics of obesity.

Conditions

Lung Diseases; Sleep Apnea Syndromes

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

No eligibility criteria

• Maximum Eligible Age: 100 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

NIH

Sponsor Role: collaborator

University of Pennsylvania

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Richard. Schwab

Role:

University of Pennsylvania

References

Schellenberg JB, Maislin G, Schwab RJ. Physical findings and the risk for obstructive sleep apnea. The importance of oropharyngeal structures. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2000 Aug;162(2 Pt 1):740-8. doi: 10.1164/ajrccm.162.2.9908123.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 10934114 (View on PubMed)

Welch KC, Foster GD, Ritter CT, Wadden TA, Arens R, Maislin G, Schwab RJ. A novel volumetric magnetic resonance imaging paradigm to study upper airway anatomy. Sleep. 2002 Aug 1;25(5):532-42.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 12150320 (View on PubMed)

Schwab RJ. Imaging for the snoring and sleep apnea patient. Dent Clin North Am. 2001 Oct;45(4):759-96.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 11699240 (View on PubMed)

Schwab RJ, Pasirstein M, Pierson R, Mackley A, Hachadoorian R, Arens R, Maislin G, Pack AI. Identification of upper airway anatomic risk factors for obstructive sleep apnea with volumetric magnetic resonance imaging. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2003 Sep 1;168(5):522-30. doi: 10.1164/rccm.200208-866OC. Epub 2003 May 13.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 12746251 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

P50HL060287

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

5029

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id