This Is How Sleep Apnea Promotes Cancer Growth & What You Can Do About It
When we think of the trouble that snoring and sleep apnea bring, the first is always the annoying noise..
Then there’s the daytime sleepiness, and association with high blood pressure and heart diseases. But promoting cancer growth? During the 2016 European Association of Urology Congress that happened this month in Munich, Germany, Dr. Antoni Vilaseca from the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona in Spain presented a new experiment finding which suggests a possible link between worsening cancer and sleep apnea. In the study, the researchers studied a group of mice with kidney tumors. Half of these mice were placed in the control group (aka: Do nothing), and the other half, the experimental group, were introduced to a reduction of oxygen to simulate intermittent hypoxia. Hypoxia basically means insufficient oxygen in the body, which is a condition people with sleep apnea would experience, because of the breathing pause due to collapsed airway. People with sleep apnea will experience intermittent hypoxia throughout the night.
The experimental group of mice was found to have an increased amount of vascular progenitor cells and endothelial cells within their kidney tumors.
These cells basically promote the creation of new blood vessels in the tumours. This is problematic because, as Dr. Vilaseca notes, “Patients suffering from obstructive sleep apnea usually suffer from intermittent hypoxia at night. This work shows that intermittent hypoxia has the potential to promote the formation of blood vessels within tumors, meaning that the tumors have access to more nutrients.” On a side note, this study reminds me of another example where our body also generates new blood vessels due to a lack of oxygen supply — corneal neovascularisation, which is the formation of blood vessels over the cornea due to lack of oxygen from prolonged contact lenses wear. If left untreated, one could lose their eyesight completely.
The findings of this new study resonate with some previous studies that also suggest sleep apnea can enhance cancer, and help to flesh out the theory. This is definitely another reason for you, if you haven’t done so already, to acknowledge the potential harms of snoring and sleep apnea, and to do something to address it. Here are some steps you can take to find out if you have sleep apnea: If you think you might have sleep apnea, here are some natural steps you can take to help address it: .
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