[Is pharmacologic treatment of sleep apnea efficient?]

High frequency of sleep disturbed breathing in adults is increasingly recognized. Obstructive sleep apnea, defined as the recurring obstruction of the upper airway is documented in 24% of adult males and 9% of females. The highest incidence is in the sixth decade. Snoring accompany 24% of middle aged man and 14% of females of the same age. Sleep apnea with the central origin, defined as the transient and recurrent cessation of breathing during sleep, is less frequent than obstructive sleep apnea. It can be identified in the wide spectrum of patients with medical, neurologic and neuromuscular diseases tightly connected with alveolar hypoventilation.