Tremulous arytenoid movements predict severity of glottic stenosis in multiple system atrophy.

To determine whether tremulous arytenoid movements predict the severity of glottic stenosis in patients with multiple system atrophy (MSA), 28 MSA patients and 14 age-matched controls underwent fiberoptic laryngoscopy with video monitoring during wakefulness and under anesthesia induced by intravenous injection of propofol. Presence or absence of tremulous arytenoid movements was recorded during wakefulness. The ratio of glottic stenosis (%), which represents the extent of airway narrowing under anesthesia, was obtained by measuring the inspiratory glottic angle during wakefulness and under anesthesia.

Daytime hypoxemia, sleep-disordered breathing, and laryngopharyngeal findings in multiple system atrophy.

Background: The mechanism underlying nocturnal sudden death in patients with MSA remains unclear. It may be explained by upper airway obstruction, such as vocal cord abductor paralysis; an impairment of the respiratory center, such as Cheyne-Stokes respiration; or an impaired hypoxemic ventilatory response.

Objective: To investigate the mechanism of sleep-disordered breathing in multiple system atrophy (MSA).

Demographic characteristics of 3,659 Japanese patients with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome diagnosed by full polysomnography: associations with apnea-hypopnea index.

Information on obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) in Japan has been limited. The purposes of this clinical study were to evaluate the demographic characteristics of Japanese OSAHS patients and to assess how demographic factors are associated with OSAHS severity. We analyzed 3,659 OSAHS patients who underwent polysomnographic evaluation between January 2000 and December 2004 at 11 hospitals in Niigata Prefecture, Japan.

Caspase-3, caspase-8, and nuclear factor-kappaB expression in human cholesteatoma.

Background: Cholesteatoma is characterized by the accumulation of keratinizing epithelium resulting from the proliferation and differentiation of epithelium. Researchers are presently unraveling the role that apoptosis plays in the disease seen in cholesteatoma epithelium. Caspases play a key role in apoptosis.