For individuals who snore heavily, the recurrent vibrations caused by snoring can lead to injuries in their upper airways. As a result, this process can result in swallowing dysfunction and render them more vulnerable to developing severe condition obstructive sleep apnea. A team of researchers at Umea University, Sweden reported these findings.
The ongoing research of these scientists focuses on the processes behind vibratory damage and healing of the upper airway tract. The data generated will aid in identifying individuals at high risk of developing sleep apnea and finding novel treatment strategies.
The leader of the research at the Department of Integrative Medical Biology at Umea University, Associate Professor Per Stal said that besides the unpleasant effects, constant snoring could be a significant health risk. There are indications, however, that their research will guide towards immediate preventive measures and in the long term also enhance healing of damaged tissue caused by snoring.
The team of researchers in Umea have revealed that snorers and sleep apnea patients have neuromuscular injuries in the upper respiratory tract. The injuries can be seen at both the structural molecular level. Also, researchers could observe a correlation between snoring and swallowing dysfunction as well as a relation between nerve damage and obstructive sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is characterized by repeated collapse of the upper respiratory tract leading to respiratory arrest during sleep which increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Also revealed in the outcome of the study was people who regularly snore heavily and have sleep apnea displayed a loss of nerves and muscle mass in the soft palate. Also, the attempts by the body to heal damaged tissue were disturbed resulting in an abnormal muscle structure. Another exciting discovery was muscle fibers in the soft palate lacked or had a disturbed organization of certain structural proteins. These proteins stabilize the organelles of the muscle cell and support cellular structures related to energy production and muscle fiber contraction.
Also discovered by the team was a neurotransmitter that is usually connected with the healing and regeneration of neurons was present in the muscle cells. This discovery suggests that the body is trying to heal the injuries, but the recurrent snoring vibrations prevent proper healing. It becomes a vicious circle where snoring causes damage and at the same time disturb healing of injuries which can lead to swallowing dysfunction and sleep apnea.
One of the researchers in the group, Farhan Shah said that present findings had given them a clearer picture of the effects of snoring vibrations which in turn increase the possibilities of finding ways to prevent damage and enhance the healing process of the body.
At present, the research team has begun to experimentally grow muscles and nerve cells at the Laboratory of muscle biology. The cultured cells will be exposed to harmful vibrations and oxygen desaturation, and they will assess the process of damage. After that, they will treat the cells with substances previously known for their role in repair and regenerations. The team is hopeful that the experiments will generate extensive data that can contribute to new treatment strategies for vibration damage.
