[Histopathologic changes of the soft palate in snoring and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome patients]

Histology of the soft palate and uvula in snorers and patients with OSA syndrome has been a subject of investigation of many authors. In majority of specimens the hypertrophy of the salivary glands as well as congestion and dilation of the thin-walled vessels were observed. Some of the samples presented atrophy of the muscle bundles. Also, the inflammatory changes as lymphocytic infiltrations were proven. In each case adults served as a control group. In this study the histologic analysis of the soft palate and uvula samples from patients suffering from snoring and OSA syndrome was performed. The uvula samples from the newborn who died on the first day of their lives were chosen as a control group. The choice of such a group excluded the influence of vibration force on the soft palate structure. Comparisons among the groups were made by Fisher exact two-tailed test. The muscular atrophy was observed only in patients with airway disturbances. No case of neonatal tissue sample with this pathology was found. Less dilation and congestion of the blood vessels were observed in the newborn group. Significantly more frequent superficial salivary glands localized between the muscle bundles and epithelium were found in the OSA and snoring patients. Our results showed distinct differences between the tissues of the patients with airway disturbances and the control group. These differences may be caused by the influence of the vibration on the soft palate and uvula, but on the other hand they may be the reason for excessive flaccidity of these structures and disturbances occurring during sleep.