| [ Summary ] |
The incidence of sleep disorders in patients with chronic renal failure is high, compared with normal subjects. One of the most important cause of sleep disorders is sleep apnea syndrome (SAS). The accumulation of uremic toxins, metabolic acidosis, chronic hypocapnea, hormone inbalances, and changes in cytokine levels such as TGF-α are considered to induce disturbances in respiratory muscles which leads to the collapse of the upper respiratory tract (obstructive SAS). SAS induces hypertension, arrhythmia, ischemic heart disease, and pulmonary circulation disease, and sometimes causes sudden death. The treatment of SAS is important to improve prognoses as well as quality of life (QOL) in patients with chronic renal failure. |