Structural and functional changes of pharyngeal muscle in rats with altitude hypoxia-induced obstructive sleep apnea syndrome / 第二军医大学学报

ABSTRACT

Objective:To observe the changes of structure and function of pharyngeal muscle in SD rats with altitude hypoxia induced obstructive sleep apnea syndrome(OSAS),in an attempt to investigate the remodeling of pharyngeal space and the possible biomechanical mechanism of OSAS.Methods:Twenty-four SD rats(12 male and 12 female) were randomly assigned to 4 groups with 6 rats in each group.Rats in group A and B were male and those in group C and D were female.Rats in group A and C were placed in altitude chamber and treated with altitude hypoxia 6 h per day for 22 days.The pressure in the chamber was 53.9 kPa with an oxygen concentration of 10.0%-11.2%.Rats in group B and D,serving as controls,received no treatment.All rats were sacrificed on the 23~(rd)day.The open-angle and the inside diameter of rats′ pharyngeal-ring and the pathology of pharyngeal tissues were examined in all rats.Results: The open-angles of rats′ pharyngeal-ring of group A, B,C and D were(55?24)?,(15?8)?,(38?20)?,and(35?15)?,respectively;and the inside diameters of the pharyngeal-ring(cm) were(0.4?0.2,) 0.2?0.1,0.3?0.1,and 0.3?0.1,respectively.The open-angle and the inside diameter of rats′ pharyngeal-ring in group A were significantly higher(P