Floppy Eyelid Syndrome Has Strong Linkages With Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Sunday, October 10th, 2010 at 8:38 PM

Common eye disorder called floppy eyelid syndrome is strongly linked with Obstructive Sleep Apnea, a new study finds.

“This is very significant,” says researchers at the Moorfields Eye Hospital in London. “When doctors diagnose one condition in a patient they should also look for the other, in this case OSA.”

The study tracked 102 patients with floppy eyelid syndrome (FES) from 1995 through 2008. People with FES have rubbery-textured upper eyelids that may easily flip up during sleep, which can lead to irritated eyes and or discharge.

“About one-third of the patients in our study has OSA, said team leader Dr. Danile G. Ezra. “The significant association of the two disorders was evident when we considered and controlled the patients’ body-mass index. People who suffer FES should be tested for Obstructive Sleep Apnea,” added Dr. Ezra.

InlandEmpireSleepSolutions.com conveniently connects patients with a select group of health professionals who are highly trained in treating OSA and a wide variety of sleep disorders.

“Forty million people in the US suffer from chronic long-term sleep disorders each year,” notes nationally recognized sleep medicine expert, Dr. Ira Shapira, director of Inland Empire Sleep Solutions. “Obstructive Sleep Apnea can lead to hypertension, heart attack, stroke, depression, muscle pain, fibromyalgia, morning headaches and excessive daytime sleepiness.”

OSA happens when the tissue in the upper-airway blocks the entire airway, causing a pause in a person’s breathing. This blockage keeps air from getting into the lungs, lowering a person’s blood-oxygen levels. For OSA sufferers, this pause in breath can happen for 10 to 30 seconds, sometimes for one minute or more, hundreds of times a night.

Dr. Shapira notes that OSA is often treated with the CPAP machine, but only half the people prescribed CPAP use it regularly. “That decision could kill,” Dr. Shapira said.

“Oral appliances may help people who have tried other OSA treatments and been unsuccessful or who have not complied with their treatment,” commented Lawrence Epstein, M.D., president, American Academy of Sleep Medicine in a 2006 study. Today, dentists are working closely with physicians and other healthcare professionals to ensure the best patient solutions.

Oral appliance therapy is much better tolerated by patients and treatment compliance is estimated at 90-95%, according to the AADSM. “Oral appliances for snoring and obstructive sleep apnea offer patients a treatment option that is safe, effective and easy to use,” according to the National Sleep Foundation. Oral appliances are also approved by the FDA.