Sleep apnea

Sairam Parthasarathy

Professor, Medicine
Division Chief, Pulmonary / Allergy - Critical Care and Sleep Medicine
Professor, Clinical Translational Sciences
Member of the Graduate Faculty
Primary Department
Department Affiliations
Contact
(520) 626-8309

Work Summary

Dr. Parthasarathy has expertise in noninvasive home ventilation for sleep-related breathing disorders and invasive ventilation in critically ill patients. His major areas of focus have been in promoting adherence to nonivasive ventilation devices in the home setting and patient-ventilator interaction during critical illness. He serves as Chief of Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine at COM-T and as a Special Advisor to NH/NHLBI.

Research Interest

Dr Parthasarathy has a broad background in translational and clinical-translational research that is focused on the following areas as PI or co-investigator: (a) sleep disturbances and the relationship to inflammation and patient-outcomes in critically ill patients receiving mechanical ventilation and (b) health-services research with emphasis on patient-centered approaches and dissemination and implementation aspects of interventions for sleep apnea. He continues to receive extramural funding as PI or Co-investigator from NIH, PCORI, Health Services Research & Development (HSR&D) portfolio of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense, American Lung Association, as well as funds from industry and private foundations which have enabled him to make contributions to sleep and critical care research.

E.Fiona Bailey

Professor, Physiology
Professor, Evelyn F Mcknight Brain Institute
Professor, Speech/Language and Hearing
Professor, BIO5 Institute
Member of the General Faculty
Member of the Graduate Faculty
Primary Department
Department Affiliations
Contact
(520) 626-8299

Research Interest

My research focus is the neural control of breathing in human and nonhuman mammals. My earlier work assessed the role of pulmonary stretch receptors and central chemoreceptors in the genesis and relief of dyspnea or shortness of breath in healthy adults. These studies led to studies in the mammalian (rodent) airway that explored the modulation of upper airway muscles activities by chemical and pulmonary afferent feedback and the potential for selective electrical stimulation of the cranial nerve XII to alter airway geometry and volume (NIH/NIDCD RO3). Beginning in 2005, with the support of an NIH/NIDCD K23 I began work in neural control of upper airway muscles using tungsten microelectrodes to record from single motor units in adult human subjects. This work led in turn, to studies of regional (or segmental) muscle and motor unit activities in human subjects under volitional, state-dependent (i.e., wake/sleep) and chemoreceptor drives, in health and disease (NIH/NIDCD RO1). On the basis of the experimental work in muscle and motor units I have pursued additional lines of enquiry focused on clinical respiratory dysfunction in two specific populations a) infants at risk for SIDS and b) adults diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Both lines of enquiry are highly innovative and have diagnostic and clinical applications. One recent line of enquiry explores the potential for a non-pharmacologic intervention daily to lower blood pressure and to improve sleep in patients diagnosed with mild-moderate obstructive sleep apnea. This training protocol shows promise as a cheap, effective and safe means of lowering blood pressure and improving autonomic-cardiovascular dysfunction in patients who are unwilling or unable to use the standard CPAP therapy.