Autoimmunity - a Sleep Apnea Peril Posted: 06-18-05 06:19am
Previous medical literature has shown that
cell injury from oxygen deprivation, such
as that induced by sleep apnea, leads to
hyperuricemia (high uric acid level in the
blood). Furthermore, a recent study has
shown that when hyperuricemia reaches
sufficient concentration to precipitate as
monosodium urate, a t-cell immune response
is triggered. The frequent repetition of
this cell injury and immune response over
a prolonged time, as would occur with
long-term sleep apnea, may lead to the
development, continuation, or aggravation
of autoimmune disease.
Sleep apnea has been found to have a high
prevalence in individuals with a number of
different autoimmune diseases. Most
notable is adult onset diabetes, which has
recently been found to be autoimmune in
many patients. But others include
myasthenia gravis, hashimoto thyroiditis,
psoriasis, and amyotropic lateral
sclerosis.
If you have an autoimmune disease, make
sure that you don't have sleep apnea. It
can't be providing you with any benefit,
and it could be causing you much harm.
