Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0037315 (sleep apnea)
 8,000 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Patent foramen ovale (PFO) is a remnant of the foetal circulation, found in about a quarter of the population. PFO is an asymptomatic condition and the high prevalence infers that it is in most cases of no or only limited clinical significance. However, recent research has found an increased prevalence of PFO in cryptogenic stroke, decompression illness and migraine. The presence of a PFO has also been associated with oxygen desaturation in conditions such as obstructive pulmonary disease and obstructive sleep apnoea. The rapid evolution and widespread availability of catheter-based closing techniques have further stimulated interest. The seemingly growing significance of PFO will be discussed in this review.
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PMID:The significance of patent foramen ovale: a current review of associated conditions and treatment. 1923 60

Patent foramen ovale and obstructive sleep apnoea are frequently encountered in the general population. Owing to their prevalence, they may coexist fortuitously; however, the prevalence of patent foramen ovale seems to be higher in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea. We have reviewed the epidemiological data, pathophysiology, and the diagnostic and therapeutic options for both patent foramen ovale and obstructive sleep apnoea. We focus on the interesting pathophysiological links that could explain a potential association between both pathologies and their implications, especially on the risk of stroke.
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PMID:Patent foramen ovale and obstructive sleep apnoea: from pathophysiology to diagnosis of a potentially dangerous association. 2162 91

Patent foramen ovale (PFO) is an embryologic remnant with incomplete postnatal adhesion of the cardiac atrial septum primum and secundum. After birth, the prevalence of PFO decreases from about 35% at young to approximately 20% at old age. PFO has been associated with numerous conditions such as decompression illness in divers, migraine, high-altitude pulmonary oedema, cerebrovascular and coronary ischaemia, and obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome. PFO is the cause of intermittent atrial right-to-left shunt, and it can be the source of cardiac paradoxical embolism. So far, randomized controlled trials have not documented a reduced rate of cerebrovascular recurrent events in patients receiving PFO device closure as compared to those on medical treatment. The purpose of this article was to critically evaluate evidence on the pathophysiologic, clinical as well as prognostic relevance of PFO.
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PMID:Patent foramen ovale (PFO): is there life before death in the presence of PFO? 2601 45

Patent foramen ovale (PFO), an embryonic remnant of the fetal circulation, is present in 20-25% of adults. Although recent observational studies and clinical trials have established the link between PFO-mediated right-to-left shunting with cryptogenic stroke and migraine with aura, the role of a PFO in exacerbating hypoxemic medical conditions (ie, sleep apnea, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary hypertension, platypnea-orthodeoxia, pulmonary arteriovenous malformation, high-altitude pulmonary edema, and exercise desaturation) remains less understood. PFO-mediated hypoxemia occurs when deoxygenated venous blood from the right atrium enters and mixes with oxygenated arterial blood in the left atrium. Patients with an intracardiac right-to-left shunt may have profound hypoxemia out of proportion to underlying primary lung disease, even in the presence of normal right-sided pressures. The presence of right-to-left cardiac shunting can exacerbate the degree of hypoxemia in patients with underlying pulmonary disorders. In a subset of these patients, percutaneous PFO closure may result in marked improvement in dyspnea and hypoxemia. This review discusses the association between PFO-mediated right-to-left shunting with medical conditions associated with hypoxemia and explores the role of percutaneous PFO closure in alleviating the hypoxemia.
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PMID:Patent Foramen Ovale and Hypoxemia. 2957 Apr 76