Keywords:
Head and neck, MR, Experimental investigations, Metabolic disorders
Authors:
E. Butorova, D. Ustyuzhanin, R. Bakhtiozin, M. Shariya; Moscow/RU
Purpose
Currently,
about 1.6 billion people in the world suffer from overweight.
In most cases,
patients with obesity identify obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
OSA is a condition characterized by the presence of snoring,
periodically repeated partial or complete cessation of breathing during sleep,
long enough to lead to lower levels of oxygen blood,
coarse fragmentation of sleep and excessive daytime sleepiness.
The diagnosis of OSA should be made if episodes of apnea last less than 10 seconds at least five times per hour.
Excessive deposition of fat in the soft structures of the upper respiratory tract (in the soft palate,
tongue,
lateral pharyngeal walls) changes the geometry and function of the upper respiratory tract.
One method that can evaluate these changes is magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
MRI can also be used for dynamic monitoring of this category of patients with different therapeutic strategies.
The aim of the study is to compare the soft structures of the upper respiratory tract measurements by MRI in obese patients with and without the obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS).