what causes the brain to cause "CENTRAL sleep apnea"?
November 1st, 2012
they’re saying my just-turned 14-year-old has this, and that it’s very rare for children to have this type. they did an mri of her brain and brain stem! any idea why? i was talking in front of her, so i didn’t ask the doctor, as i didn’t want to scare her.
just some little ‘adds’, if they could help: she’s adopted. i know her bmom smoked, but plenty do, and their kids don’t have that problem (right?). it’s also possible she did some partying before she kne she was pregnant, but again, i can’t find a correlation in any research online.
thanks for any help you can offer.
Central Sleep Apnea happens when breathing stops with no obstruction. So, no effort was made to breath.
In many ways this breathing pause is a distraction from the real problem and actually corrective of that problem. The real problem is excessive breathing. This washes out necessary CO2 and in doing so causes the blood vesicles to close down as well as frustrating oxygen transport, especially in the brain. The effort becomes so great that an arousal (partial awakening) occurs, the brain sees that breathing has gotten out of hand and so stops the process allowing the CO2 levels to catch up and circulation, along with oxygenation, to resume.
They are looking at your child’s brain stem because many of the controlling centers for their chemoreflexes are believed to be there (chemoreflexes are breathing reflexes driving breathing to respond to blood gas levels).
Here are some things I have found helpful to maintain good breathing control at night:
Anything you can do to make them feel loved and reduce the stress they deal with.
Reduction and/or elimination of violent media
Less carbs and especially sugars near bed time.
Good exercise during the day – long walks (with some running if practical).
Eating well.
A set bed time with a quiet time preceeding.
May we all find good health!
October 31st, 2012 at 9:20 pm
Central Sleep Apnea happens when breathing stops with no obstruction. So, no effort was made to breath.
In many ways this breathing pause is a distraction from the real problem and actually corrective of that problem. The real problem is excessive breathing. This washes out necessary CO2 and in doing so causes the blood vesicles to close down as well as frustrating oxygen transport, especially in the brain. The effort becomes so great that an arousal (partial awakening) occurs, the brain sees that breathing has gotten out of hand and so stops the process allowing the CO2 levels to catch up and circulation, along with oxygenation, to resume.
They are looking at your child’s brain stem because many of the controlling centers for their chemoreflexes are believed to be there (chemoreflexes are breathing reflexes driving breathing to respond to blood gas levels).
Here are some things I have found helpful to maintain good breathing control at night:
Anything you can do to make them feel loved and reduce the stress they deal with.
Reduction and/or elimination of violent media
Less carbs and especially sugars near bed time.
Good exercise during the day – long walks (with some running if practical).
Eating well.
A set bed time with a quiet time preceeding.
May we all find good health!
References :
PubMed search terms: Sleep Apnea CO2 reserve, Sleep Apnea Ventilatory Instability, Central Sleep Apnea