ABSTRACT
B24 Sleep Disorders and Neuromuscular Disorders Antonio Culebras The Sleep Center, Community General Hospital, and Department of Neurology, Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York, U.S.A.
INTRODUCTION
Changes in the physiology of respiration in sleep increase the risk for the development of sleep-related respiratory alterations and respiratory failure. A variety of sleep-determined changes that converge in the sensory and effector mechanisms of the respiratory system may compromise the already challenged ability to breathe in patients with a neuromuscular disorder. Included under this heading are alterations of the lower motor neuron, the neuromuscular junction, and muscle. Diaphragmatic weakness, chest-wall weakness, restrictive lung disease, weakness of the pharyngeal wall, obesity, and nocturnal hypoventilation of central origin are the principal causes of sleep-related respiratory insufficiency in patients with a neuromuscular disorder.
