Upper airway resistance syndrome and its treatment

Although upper airway resistance syndrome (UARS) is being recognized by a g rowing number of specialists, its prevalence remains unknown. UARS is assoc iated with nocturnal and daytime complaints and oro-naso-maxillo-mandibular signs. Spectrum analysis of the nocturnal sleep EEG from the central leads indicates significant differences in absolute power in the 12-14 Hz and th e 7-9 Hz bands of UARS patients compared to controls. The 0.5-2.0 Hz band a lso appears to be involved when analyses performed on matched controls are compared to results obtained in subjects treated with nasal CPAP. Several t reatment avenues-nasal CPAP, dental devices, surgical procedures, and radio frequency thermal ablation-have been used for the treatment of UARS. The nu mber of subjects treated have been too low and the protocols too limited to arrive at appropriate outcome recommendations, but many of the approaches have shown positive results, suggesting the possibility of several treatmen t avenues.