More Than the Sum of the Respiratory Events: Personalized Medicine Approaches for Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

ABSTRACT: Traditionally, the presence and severity of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have been defined by the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI). Continuous positive airway pressure is generally first-line therapy despite low adherence, because it reliably reduces the AHI when used, and the response to other therapies is variable. However, there is growing appreciation that the underlying etiology (i.e., endotype) and clinical manifestation (i.e., phenotype) of OSA in an individual are not well described by the AHI. We define and review the important progress made in understanding and measuring physiological mechanisms (or endotypes) that help define subtypes of OSA and identify the potential use of genetics to further refine disease classification. This more detailed understanding of OSA pathogenesis should

SUBMITTER: Edwards BA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6775874 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature