Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Women: Study of Speech and Craniofacial Characteristics.

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common sleep disorder characterized by frequent cessation of breathing lasting 10 seconds or longer. The diagnosis of OSA is performed through an expensive procedure, which requires an overnight stay at the hospital. This has led to several proposals based on the analysis of patients' facial images and speech recordings as an attempt to develop simpler and cheaper methods to diagnose OSA.

Reviewing the connection between speech and obstructive sleep apnea.

Background: Sleep apnea (OSA) is a common sleep disorder characterized by recurring breathing pauses during sleep caused by a blockage of the upper airway (UA). The altered UA structure or function in OSA speakers has led to hypothesize the automatic analysis of speech for OSA assessment. In this paper we critically review several approaches using speech analysis and machine learning techniques for OSA detection, and discuss the limitations that can arise when using machine learning techniques for diagnostic applications.

Speech Signal and Facial Image Processing for Obstructive Sleep Apnea Assessment.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common sleep disorder characterized by recurring breathing pauses during sleep caused by a blockage of the upper airway (UA). OSA is generally diagnosed through a costly procedure requiring an overnight stay of the patient at the hospital. This has led to proposing less costly procedures based on the analysis of patients' facial images and voice recordings to help in OSA detection and severity assessment.

Formant Frequencies and Bandwidths in Relation to Clinical Variables in an Obstructive Sleep Apnea Population.

Objectives: We investigated whether differences in formants and their bandwidths, previously reported comparing small sample population of healthy individuals and patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), are detected on a larger population representative of a clinical practice scenario. We examine possible indirect or mediated effects of clinical variables, which may shed some light on the connection between speech and OSA.

Study Design: In a retrospective study, 241 male subjects suspected to suffer from OSA were examined.

Effect of CPAP on oxidative stress and circulating progenitor cell levels in sleep patients with apnea-hypopnea syndrome.

Background: The sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome is associated with elevated oxidative stress, which is associated with reduced levels and functional impairment of progenitor cells.

Objective: To evaluate whether one month of CPAP treatment affects circulating-progenitor-cell levels and oxidative stress in patients with sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome.

Methods: We enrolled 13 patients with sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome who required nasal CPAP.

Continuous positive airway pressure therapy reduces oxidative stress markers and blood pressure in sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome patients.

Sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (SAHS) is characterized by recurrent episodes of hypoxia/reoxygenation, which seems to promote oxidative stress. SAHS patients experience increases in hypertension, obesity and insulin resistance (IR). The purpose was to evaluate in SAHS patients the effects of 1 month of treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on oxidative stress and the association between oxidative stress and insulin resistance and blood pressure (BP).

Oxidative stress and metabolic changes after continuous positive airway pressure treatment according to previous metabolic disorders in sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome patients.

Sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (SAHS) is characterized by recurrent episodes of hypoxia/reoxygenation, which seems to promote oxidative stress. SAHS patients experience increases in hypertension, obesity, and dyslipidemia, and the oxidative state has been related to the genesis of these disorders. The purpose of this study was to examine the changes in oxidative stress markers and metabolic parameters in S AHS patients after 1 month of treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), in relation to their previous metabolic disorders.