Sleep Disturbance | Why Does Sleep Apnea Exist, and How Can We Correct It?

Finding Genius Podcast

Richard Jacobs

Medicine, Health & Fitness

4.4 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 1 March 2023

⏱️ 36 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Richard J. Schwab, MD, DABSM, Head of Sleep Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, and the Co-Medical Director, Penn Sleep Center, discusses the pathogenesis of obstructive sleep apnea, and obstructive sleep apnea treatment.

Podcast Points:

What is obstructive sleep apnea?
What causes sleep apnea in some, when others seem to avoid it, and what can you do about it?
How do soft tissues impact sleep?

Dr. Schwab provides some background on his work and the various sleep problems that exist. He talks about sleep apnea, and why there is so much left to understand. Why does it happen when we sleep? He discusses soft tissue structures and lateral walls and other factors that can lead to airway paths collapsing.

Dr. Schwab's extensive research seeks to target the pathogenesis of obstructive sleep apnea by using advanced upper airway imaging techniques. His studies help further explain the motion of various key structures of the upper airway and the role they play in airway closure. Dr. Schwab talks about the biomechanics of apneic events.

He provides information on how they utilize magnetic resonance imaging and electronic beam computed tomography during sleep, as well as wakefulness, to study patients. Dr. Schwab talks about abnormal craniofacial structures as well as soft tissue, and how they can potentially impact sleep apnea occurrences. He discusses mouth breathing, studies they conducted on tongue fat, and how it all could impact breathing issues.

As he states, if you naturally have a narrow airway, as movement occurs when you sleep, apnea could be initiated. He provides an in-depth discussion of how tissues move, and studies they have done on wakefulness. But he states there are more studies on sleep and breathing that they plan to do in the near future.

Dr. Schwab, through his exhaustive research annually, collaborates regularly with members of the Departments of Radiology and Biomechanical and Computer Engineering. And together, the scientific researcher/developers have designed an extremely advanced, computer graphics-based analysis software that can assist with modeling, in three dimensions, of the biomechanical interrelationships that exist between soft tissue structures and the upper airway.

Want to find out more about Dr. Schwab and his work? Visit https://www.pennmedicine.org/providers/profile/richard-schwab now!

Episode also available on Apple Podcasts: http://apple.co/30PvU9C

Transcript

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0:00.0	So if you're a nose breather, it is a little bit more straightforward because then the
0:04.7	thoth palates sits on the back of your tongue and everybody's with their mouth closed and
0:08.5	then you sort of can make some comparisons and you're correct to me, it depends on where
0:12.5	it narrows.
0:13.5	Once you open your mouth, everything changes and the anatomy changes and the thoth palette
0:18.2	raises up and then that depends on how much you're opening your mouth and so that's obviously
0:23.3	not something that's easily controllable.
0:26.1	So we don't really understand that very well.
0:29.3	When I do my work, everybody breathes through their nose so I don't look at mouth breathers
0:34.1	because it completely messes up your anatomy.
0:38.4	But you're correct, the obstruction may be in a very different place if you open your
0:42.5	mouth versus keep your mouth closed and also how much you open your mouth so that becomes
0:48.1	complicated.
0:50.1	Forget frequently asked questions, how about advice from a real genius?
0:56.6	95% of people in any profession are good enough to be qualified in license, 5%, they become
1:03.2	very good at what they do, but only 0.1% are real geniuses.
1:07.9	Richard Jacobs has made it his life's mission to find them for you.
1:12.0	He hunts down and interviews geniuses in every field, sleep science, cancer, stem cells,
1:16.8	ketogenic diets and more.
1:18.6	Here come the geniuses, this is the Finding Genius Podcast.
1:22.7	Richard Jacobs.
1:24.7	Hello, this is Richard Jacobs, the Finding Genius Podcast and Professor Richard J. Schwab.
	...

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