Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome: From Diagnosis to Treatment

Dear Colleagues,

Background and history of this topic:

Οbstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the most prevalent sleep breathing (SDB) disorder. The most common symptoms of this disorder include excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), snoring and witnessed apneas, and tiredness, insomnia, headaches and nocturia. These clinical symptoms may aid in the referral of patients, but they are not pathognomonic.  The pathophysiology of OSA is multifactorial, including not only an anatomically impaired upper airway, but also other non-anatomical factors (physiological traits), such as a low respiratory arousal threshold, high loop gain and the poor ability of the upper airway muscles to keep the airway open. The heterogeneity of OSA’s pathogenesis is important as it contributes to the various clinical phenotypes observed in patients. In recent years, several cluster analysis studies have shown that the classical phenotype of OSA represents only a part of the population and that other phenotypes, with less or more atypical symptoms such as insomnia, may be identified. Additionally, there are gender differences in the clinical presentation of the disease. 

The aim and scope of this Special Issue is as follows: 

Undiagnosed and untreated OSA has been associated with increased mortality and may have serious implications, such as an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, arrythmias, cerebrovascular disease, heart failure, pulmonary hypertension and diabetes. These result in a significant economic burden; however, the health, societal and economic consequences of OSA can be decreased with early identification and treatment. The diagnosis and treatment of OSA may be oversimplified when clinicians focus only on the Apnea Hypopneas Index (AHI), and do not consider the whole clinical presentation (symptoms, co-morbidities) of the patient for more personalized treatment. OSA is a chronic disease that requires long-term multidisciplinary management. While there are several treatment options such as CPAP, mandibular advancement devices, weight loss, lifestyle interventions, positional therapy and surgical operations, CPAP is still considered the gold standard. More recent studies have demonstrated the efficacy of hypoglossal nerve stimulation and pharmacotherapy in selected cases.

Cutting-edge research:

This Special Issue welcomes the submission of research that focuses on the early detection, diagnosis and treatment of OSA. There is a need to identify the key clinical phenotypes of OSA to employ more targeted, personalized treatments. Additionally, it is crucial to focus on the identification of predictors of the outcomes of OSA, as well as predictors of the efficacy of the applied treatments. 

We are looking for original research papers (basic, clinical and translational) and reviews that address the following topics:

- early detection, diagnosis and treatment of OSA;
- identification of OSA’s key clinical phenotypes;
- identification of the predictors of the outcomes of OSA;
- assessment and characterization of predictors of the efficacy of the applied treatments.

Warm regards,

Dr. Athanasia Pataka
Prof. Dr. Georgia Trakada
Dr. Paschalis Steiropoulos
Guest Editors

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• obstructive sleep apnea
• diagnosis
• risk factors
• treatment
• phenotypes
• consequences
• CPAP
• mandibular advancement devices
• positional therapy
• hypoglossal nerve stimulation
• pharmacotherapy