For centuries, people, trying to understand and at least somehow explain incomprehensible phenomena for themselves, shifted the responsibility for them to gods, natural spirits and other mystical creatures. Even modern people do not always immediately understand that Ondine's curse - a syndrome of cessation of breathing and sudden death - is not some ancient curse or a modern esoteric problem, but a disease caused by certain characteristics of some people. What is this disease, how does it manifest itself and can it be de alt with? We will try to answer all the questions in this article.
Ancient legend
Medicians and scientists until the beginning of the 20th century could not understand what causes Ondine's curse syndrome - a stop in a dream of respiratory activity, leading to the death of both infants and young children, and adults of different ages.
The name of this phenomenon was given by an old German legend about the love of a mermaidOndine and the knight Guldbrandt of Ringstetten. According to this legend, a young maiden gave up immortality in order to be with her beloved. Before the altar, the knight swore to love her as long as he could breathe. However, the love of the nobleman passed rather quickly, and he cheated on Ondine. Why the mermaid died is unknown, but her body was found in the waters of the Danube. Her husband Guldbrandt quickly consoled himself and, forgetting about the oath, remarried. The ghost of Ondine did not forgive the traitor and, appearing to the knight, cursed him, forcing him to remember about breathing around the clock. Because of this, the knight could not sleep, because, having fallen asleep, he could immediately die, stopping breathing.
Today, doctors call Ondine's curse - apnea syndrome. In this disease, people unconsciously and uncontrollably stop breathing during sleep.
What happens to the sick?
Scientists say that even an absolutely he althy person stops breathing for 10-20 seconds during a night's sleep. There is nothing to worry about, since then normal respiratory activity is restored. The body of those people who have Ondine's curse syndrome does not turn on the mode of "automatic" regulation of breathing.
A person cannot breathe on his own, and a state of dysrhythmic hypoventilation occurs, or, more simply, suffocation. At the same time, a very small amount of oxygen enters the body, which leads to violations and malfunctions of internal organs and systems.
What is the reason?
For many years, scientists and doctorsmany countries have tried to answer the question of what the "curse of Ondine" syndrome is and to understand the causes of its occurrence. The first breakthrough in the study of this disease was made by scientists Severingus and Mitchell only in the second half of the 20th century as a result of studying a patient with a severe brain injury, due to which he lost automatic control over his own breathing. The researchers were able to establish that Ondine's curse syndrome is one form of a disease such as sleep apnea syndrome. However, scientists have not been able to answer the question of why this disease affects ordinary people.
A gene is to blame?
Until now, doctors could not identify the root cause of this syndrome. More recently, French scientists have managed to find the "culprit" of respiratory arrest. It turned out to be the Thox2B gene. Thus, Ondine's curse syndrome turned out to be a genetic disease that is not inherited, but develops in the embryo during the prenatal period.
What can save?
If in the old days children with this syndrome inevitably died, today doctors can help such patients live to adulthood using the following methods:
- implanting a special tube (tracheostomy) into the larynx and connecting the patient to a ventilator;
- Put a ventilation mask on your child every day before going to bed.
German doctors have developed a method that allows you to implant a stimulator of respiratory rhythm impulses intobody, allowing patients to lead an almost normal life. The essence of the technique lies in the fact that during a small surgical intervention, a special electrode is implanted in the phrenic nerve, which regulates respiratory activity during sleep.
Modern medicine cannot offer any other treatment for Ondine's Curse Syndrome as it simply does not exist yet.
Risk groups
Each of us can face this disease. Indeed, adults are extremely rarely affected by this disease for a simple, but very terrible reason: before, patients simply did not live to adulthood, dying in their sleep. Most often, Ondine's curse syndrome is diagnosed in newborns and infants. But middle-aged and older people, and in recent years also young men, suffer from other types of Ondine's curse - sleep apnea syndromes (SAS).
Apnea syndrome
In addition to the Ondine syndrome described above, there are several more types of sleep apnea (respiratory disorders during sleep):
- Central.
- Obstructive or peripheral.
- Mixed.
Most of us, without even knowing it, have repeatedly encountered this disease in everyday life. This is snoring, which is one of the symptoms and manifestations of peripheral sleep apnea.
Let's take a closer look at the differences between the sleep disturbances listed above.
Peripheral sleep apnea
This type of respiratory dysfunction is potentiallya life-threatening condition and is characterized by very frequent, more than 15 times in one hour, and rather long interruptions in respiratory activity, over 10 seconds. Such apnea in most cases occurs due to a violation of the passage of nerve impulses from the center in the brain to the muscles involved in breathing. In fact, snoring can also be caused by the anatomical features of the structure of the nasopharynx, but in most cases this type of disease is the curse of Ondine - neuropathology, disorders in the functioning of the central nervous system (CNS).
Center View
Unlike peripheral, this type of sleep apnea occurs as a result of various pathological changes in the brain due to past diseases, surgical interventions or injuries. In this case, there is no respiratory effort, as the airways do not receive activation impulses from the CNS.
Mixed sleep apnea got its name because this sleep apnea syndrome shows signs of both central and peripheral types. Most often, this type of respiratory disorder occurs and is diagnosed in the first year of life.
Danger signs
There are a number of symptoms, noticing one of which in yourself or your loved ones, you should definitely consult a doctor:
- Permanent fatigue and fatigue.
- Impaired attention and memory.
- Chronic drowsiness that does not go away even after a long sleep.
- Restless sleep and frequent waking up.
- Snoring.
- Persistent morning headaches.
The danger of any type of apnea is that at night the body does not get proper rest, as tissues, organs and systems work in an “emergency” mode due to a low level of oxygen supplied to them.
Sleep apnea syndromes that develop over a long period of time significantly increase the risk of diseases of the cardiovascular, endocrine, nervous and other body systems.
Of course, most of the symptoms can occur with other diseases, but it is better to clarify the diagnosis with a specialist.
