Targeted hypoglossal nerve stimulation for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea: Six-month results.

Objectives/hypothesis: This feasibility study was designed to show the preliminary safety and efficacy of targeted hypoglossal neurostimulation (THN), and to identify baseline predictors of successful therapy.

Study Design: Open-label, prospective, multicenter, single-arm cohort study, conducted at seven centers in the U.S.

[Upper airway stimulation in obstructive sleep apnea].

The stimulation of the upper airway represents an effective treatment option in case of CPAP failure in patients with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea. The stimulation with respiratory sensing (Inspire Medical Systems) has shown a high level of evidence in larger cohorts and longer follow-up studies. Whether the results of the stimulation without respiratory sensing (ImThera Medical) can be compared with the therapy with sensing, remains open up to now.

Epstein-Barr virus colonization of tonsillar and peripheral blood B-cell subsets in primary infection and persistence.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) persists in the immune host by preferentially colonizing the isotype-switched (IgD(-)CD27(+)) memory B-cell pool. In one scenario, this is achieved through virus infection of naive (IgD(+)CD27(-)) B cells and their differentiation into memory via germinal center (GC) transit; in another, EBV avoids GC transit and infects memory B cells directly. We report 2 findings consistent with this latter view.