The Curse of Undine - Apnea Syndrome

Over the centuries, people, trying to understand and somehow explain the incomprehensible phenomena for themselves, shifted responsibility for them to gods, natural spirits and other mystical beings. Even modern people do not always immediately realize that the curse of Undine - the syndrome of cessation of breathing and sudden death - is not some ancient curse or a modern esoteric problem, but a disease caused by certain characteristics of some people. What is this disease, how is it manifested and can it be managed? We will try to answer all the questions posed in this article.

Ancient legend

Doctors and scientists until the beginning of the twentieth century could not understand what causes cause Undine's curse syndrome - the stopping of respiratory activity in sleep, leading to the death of both infants and young children, and adults of different ages.

The name was given to this phenomenon by an old German legend about the love of the mermaid Undina and the knight Guldbrandt Ringstetten. According to this legend, the young maiden renounced immortality for the sake of being with her beloved. Before the altar, the knight swore to love her while he could breathe. However, the love of the noble passed quickly, and he changed Undine. Why the mermaid died - is unknown, but her body was found in the waters of the Danube. Her husband Guldbrandt quickly became comforted and, forgetting the oath, remarried. The ghost of Undina did not forgive the traitor and, appearing to the knight, cursed him, forcing him to remember breathing around the clock. Because of this, the knight could not sleep, because, falling asleep, he could immediately perish, ceasing to breathe.

Today, doctors call it the curse of Undine - the apnea syndrome. In this disease, people during sleep experience an unconscious and uncontrolled cessation of breathing.

What happens to the sick?

Scientists claim that every even absolutely healthy person during the night sleep stops breathing for 10-20 seconds. There is nothing wrong with this, since then normal respiratory activity is restored. The organism of those people who have Undine's curse syndrome does not include the regime of "automatic" breathing regulation.

The person can not breathe independently, and there is a state of dysrhythmic hypoventilation, and, more simply, suffocation. In this case, a very small amount of oxygen enters the body, which leads to violations and failures in the work of internal organs and systems.

What is the reason?

Over the years, scientists and doctors from many countries have tried to answer the question of what is the "curse of Undine" syndrome and understand the causes of its occurrence. The first breakthrough in the study of this disease was made by scientists Sewringaus and Mitchell only in the second half of the XX century as a result of studying a patient with a severe brain trauma, due to which he lost automatic control over his own breathing. The researchers were able to establish that the syndrome of Undine's curse is one of the forms of a disease such as sleep apnea syndrome. However, scientists could not answer the question of why this disease affects ordinary people.

Is the gene to blame?

Until now , doctors could not identify the root cause of this syndrome. More recently, French scientists have managed to find the "culprit" of stopping breathing. It was the gene Thox2B. Thus, the syndrome of Undine's curse turned out to be a genetic disease not transmitted by inheritance, but developing in the embryo during the intrauterine period.

What can save?

If in earlier times children with a similar syndrome inevitably perished, then today physicians can help such patients live to mature years, using the following methods:

• Inserting into the larynx a special tube (tracheostomy) and connecting the patient to the apparatus of artificial ventilation ;
• Every day before going to bed wear a ventilation mask on the child.

German physicians have developed a method that allows implanting a stimulator of pulses of the respiratory rhythm into the body, which allows patients to lead a practically normal life. The essence of the technique is that during a small surgical intervention in the diaphragmatic nerve, a special electrode regulating respiratory activity during sleep is implanted.

Modern medicine can not offer any other treatment for the Undine curse syndrome, as it simply does not exist yet.

Risk groups

Every one of us can face this disease. Indeed, adults are extremely rarely amazed by this ailment for a simple but very terrible reason: before, patients simply did not live to mature age, dying in a dream. Most often, the syndrome of Undine's curse is diagnosed in newborns and infants. But people of middle and older age, and in recent years also young men, suffer from other kinds of curse Undina - sleep apnea syndrome (SSA).

Apnea Syndrome

In addition to the Undine syndrome described above, there are several other types of apnea (respiratory disturbances in sleep):

1. Central.
2. Obstructive or peripheral.
3. Mixed.

Most of us, even without knowing this, have repeatedly experienced this disease in everyday life. This is a snoring, which is one of the symptoms and manifestations of peripheral apnea.

Let us consider in more detail the differences between the aforementioned disturbances of respiratory activity in a dream.

Peripheral apnea

This kind of dysfunction of breathing is a potentially life-threatening condition and is characterized by very frequent, more than 15 times in one hour, and rather long interruptions in respiratory activity, over 10 seconds. This apnea in most cases occurs due to a violation of the passage of nerve impulses from the center in the brain to the muscles involved in breathing. In fact, snoring can also be caused by anatomical features of the structure of the nasopharynx, but in most cases this type of disease - the curse of Undine - neuropathology, disorders in the functioning of the central nervous system (CNS).

Central view

Unlike the peripheral, this kind of apnea occurs due to various pathological changes in the brain due to illnesses, surgical interventions or injuries. In this case, there is no respiratory effort, since the respiratory tract does not receive the activating impulses from the CNS.

Mixed apnea received its name for the fact that this syndrome of sleep apnea shows signs of both central and peripheral types. Most often this type of respiratory disturbance occurs and is diagnosed in the first year of life of children.

Dangerous signs

There are a number of symptoms, noticing one of them in themselves or their loved ones, you should always contact the doctors:

1. Constant fatigue and fatigue.
2. Violations of attention and memory.
3. Chronic drowsiness, not even after a long sleep.
4. Restless sleep and frequent waking up.
5. Snore.
6. Constant morning headaches.

The danger of any kind of apnea is that during the night hours the body does not get proper rest, as tissues, organs and systems work in an "emergency" mode because of the low level of oxygen coming to them.

Developed for a long time, sleep apnea syndromes significantly increase the risk of diseases of the cardiovascular, endocrine, nervous and other body systems.

Of course, most of the symptoms can manifest themselves in other diseases, but it is better to clarify the diagnosis with a specialist after all.