Publications by authors named "Marc J Braem"

Introduction: Custom-made titratable mandibular advancement device (MAD) treatment can nowadays be considered a promising first-line treatment in patients with mild to severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Specific manufacturing designs and titration mechanisms of MAD are on the market, characterized by their titration approach, vertical opening, and materials selection. The wing-designed MAD (SomnoDent® Flex™, SomnoMed Ltd, Sydney, Australia) has a lateral screw mechanism to advance the lower jaw in incremental steps of 0.

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Study Objectives: Treatment-emergent central sleep apnea (TECSA) describes the appearance or persistence of central sleep apnea while undergoing treatment for obstructive sleep apnea. TECSA is well studied in continuous positive airway pressure therapy with an estimated prevalence of 8%. Based on a few case reports, mandibular advancement devices (MAD) may also provoke TECSA.

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Objective: To quantitatively investigate the effect of mandibular advancement devices (MADs) on pharyngeal airway dimensions in a transverse plane as measured during drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE).

Methods: Data from 56 patients, treated with MAD at 75% maximal protrusion and with baseline Apnea-Hypopnea Index ≥10 events/h, were analyzed. For each patient, three snapshots were selected from DISE video footage at baseline, with MAD presence, and during chin lift, resulting in 498 images (168/168/162, baseline/MAD/chin lift).

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Mandibular advancement device (MAD) treatment outcome for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is variable and patient dependent. A global, clinically applicable predictive model is lacking. Our aim was to combine characteristics obtained during drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE), awake nasendoscopy, and computed tomography scan-based computational fluid dynamic (CFD) measurements in one multifactorial model, to explain MAD treatment outcome.

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Study Objectives: The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of subjective titration versus objectively guided titration during polysomnography (PSG) and drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) in mandibular advancement device (MAD) therapy for patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Methods: In this pilot cross-over study, patients underwent three titration procedures in randomized order: (1) subjective titration, (2) PSG-guided titration using a remotely controlled mandibular positioner (RCMP) and (3) DISE-assisted titration using RCMP. After each titration procedure, patients used the MAD for 1 month at the targeted protrusion obtained according to the preceding titration procedure.

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Study Objectives: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with cardiovascular comorbidities such as left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy. Whether OSA is an independent etiological factor for this hypertrophic remodeling is yet unknown. Continuous positive airway pressure partially reverses this hypertrophy, but data regarding the effect of mandibular advancement devices on LV remodeling are scarce.

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Study Objectives: Mandibular advancement devices (MADs) are a noninvasive treatment option for patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and act by increasing the upper airway volume. However, the exact therapeutic mechanism of action remains unclear. The aim of this study was to assess MAD mechanisms using functional imaging that combines imaging techniques and computational fluid dynamics and assess associations with treatment outcome.

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Objectives: Awake nasopharyngoscopy is routinely performed in the assessment of patients who require treatment for sleep-disordered breathing (SDB). However, the applicability and accuracy of Müller's manoeuvre, the main evaluation method for this purpose, are disputable. The current study aimed to introduce an alternative method for awake nasopharyngoscopy in patients with SDB.

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Mandibular advancement device (MAD) treatment efficacy varies among patients with obstructive sleep apnea. The current study aims to explain underlying individual differences in efficacy using obstructive sleep apnea endotypic traits calculated from baseline clinical polysomnography: collapsibility (airflow at normal ventilatory drive), loop gain (drive response to reduced airflow), arousal threshold (drive preceding arousal), compensation (increase in airflow as drive increases), and the ventilatory response to arousal (increase in drive explained by arousal). On the basis of previous research, we hypothesized that responders to MAD treatment have a lower loop gain and milder collapsibility.

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Article Synopsis
  • Doctors studied a method to help choose the right patients for a sleep treatment device (MAD) by looking at their airway features while they breathe.
  • They examined 100 patients with sleep apnea and found that the position of the soft palate and throat crowding were important to understand if the treatment would work well.
  • The study suggests that doing an awake examination of the throat could help doctors find patients who might struggle with the treatment, helping to improve their chances of success.
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Background: The amount of mandibular protrusion is a key factor in optimizing the efficacy of mandibular advancement device (MAD) therapy in an individual patient diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea. This process is called titration and is generally based on resolution of subjective symptoms like snoring and/or daytime sleepiness as a function of protrusion. An objective approach uses a remotely controlled mandibular positioner (RCMP) during a full-night polysomnography (PSG), in analogy with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) titration.

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Study Objectives: Mandibular advancement device (MAD) outcome varies between patients. We hypothesized that upper airway collapse sites, patterns, and degrees assessed during baseline drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) affect MAD outcome.

Methods: One hundred patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) were included and underwent baseline type 1 polysomnography.

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Objectives/hypothesis: To evaluate upper airway (UA) collapse patterns during drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) and maxillomandibular advancement (MMA) surgery outcome, paying particular attention to the DISE phenotype complete concentric collapse at the level of the palate (CCCp).

Study Design: Prospective case series.

Methods: Nineteen patients diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) prospectively underwent mandibular advancement device (MAD) treatment followed by MMA surgery.

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Study Objectives: The objective of this study was to measure fatigue and hypersomnolence in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) treated with a mandibular advancement device (MAD), using Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) for hypersomnolence and Checklist Individual Strength questionnaire (CIS20R) for fatigue.

Methods: This was a single-center, prospective cohort study. A total of 58 patients with OSA filled out ESS and CIS20R questionnaires at baseline and after 3 months of MAD treatment.

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Study Objectives: The potential of a remotely controlled mandibular positioner (RCMP) during sleep studies in individual patients suffering from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) for the determination of the effective target protrusive position (ETPP) of the mandible has been demonstrated. The research goal of this study was to assess the feasibility of the application of RCMP during drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) for the determination of ETPP.

Methods: Ten patients in whom OSA was diagnosed (50% male; age 54 ± 9.

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Study Objectives: To assess the overall clinical effectiveness of a sleep position trainer (SPT) in patients with positional obstructive sleep apnea (POSA) and to evaluate how many patients were willing to continue treatment after a 1-month trial period.

Methods: Patients in whom POSA was diagnosed underwent a 1-month trial period with the SPT. Home sleep apnea tests were used to measure baseline data and data following the trial period with the SPT.

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Study Objectives: To perform a review of the current evidence regarding the use of a remotely controlled mandibular positioner (RCMP) and to analyze the efficacy of RCMP as a predictive selection tool in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) with oral appliances that protrude the mandible (OAm), exclusively relying on single-night RCMP titration.

Methods: An extensive literature search is performed through PubMed.com, Thecochranelibrary.

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Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is the most common sleep disordered breathing disorder (SDB) in adults and is characterized by a recurrent partial or complete collapse of the upper airway during sleep. This can be caused by many factors, sometimes interacting, such as skeletal malformations, soft tissue crowding, respiratory instability and the various effects of aging, obesity and gender that dictate craniofacial and upper airway anatomy. Research has demonstrated that the majority of patients exhibit at least one anatomical component such as retrognathia or a narrow posterior airway space that predisposes to the development of OSAS.

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Importance: The main reported reasons for discontinuation of oral appliance therapy for sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) are the presence of self-perceived adverse effects and self-appreciated lack of efficacy. However, these conclusions rely only on subjective compliance data.

Objective: To determine which parameters are correlated with objectively measured data on compliance with oral appliance therapy.

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Purpose: The objective of this randomized controlled trial was to assess the additional effect of a chest-worn sleep position trainer (SPT) in patients with residual supine-dependent obstructive sleep apnea (sdOSA) under mandibular advancement device (MAD) therapy.

Methods: Baseline and follow-up polysomnography with MAD were performed. Twenty patients with sdOSA under MAD therapy underwent two consecutive randomized polysomnographies: one with SPT and one with combination of SPT + MAD.

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Background: When a surgeon uses a percutaneous volar approach to treat scaphoid waist fractures, central screw placement is complicated by the shape of the scaphoid and by obstruction by the trapezium. In this study, we used radiographs and biomechanical tests to compare the standard volar percutaneous approach with the transtrapezial approach, with regard to central screw placement at the distal pole of the scaphoid.

Methods: Fourteen matched pairs of cadaveric wrists were randomly assigned to two treatment groups.

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Study Objective: The prevalence of supine-dependent obstructive sleep apnea (sdOSA) in a general population ranges from 20% to 60%, depending on the criteria used. Currently, the prevalence and evolution of sdOSA once oral appliance therapy with a mandibular advancement device (OAm) has started is unknown. In addition, literature on the correlation between sdOSA and treatment success with OAm is not unequivocal.

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