For centuries, people, trying to understand and somehow explain incomprehensible phenomena, shifted responsibility for them to the gods, natural spirits and other mystical creatures. Even modern people do not always immediately understand that Undine’s curse - a syndrome of cessation of breath and sudden death - is not some ancient curse or a modern esoteric problem, but a disease caused by certain characteristics of some people. What kind of disease is this, how does it manifest, and is it possible to cope with it? We will try to answer all the questions in this article.
Ancient legend
Until the beginning of the 20th century, physicians and scientists could not understand what causes Undina’s curse syndrome - a stop in a dream of respiratory activity leading to the death of both infants and young children, and adults of different ages.
The name was given to this phenomenon by an old German legend about the love of the mermaid Undina and the knight of Gulndbrandt Ringstetten. According to this legend, the young virgin refused immortality in order to be with her beloved. In front of the altar, the knight vowed to love her while he could breathe. However, the love of the nobleman passed rather quickly, and he cheated on Undine. Why the mermaid died is unknown, but her body was found in the waters of the Danube. Her husband Gulndbrandt quickly consoled himself and, forgetting the oath, married again. The ghost of Undine did not forgive the traitor and, appearing to the knight, cursed him, making him remember his breathing around the clock. Because of this, the knight could not sleep, because when he fell asleep, he could immediately die, having stopped breathing.
Today, doctors call the curse of Undine - apnea syndrome. With this disease in people during sleep, an unconscious and uncontrolled cessation of breathing occurs.
What happens to patients?
Scientists say that even an absolutely healthy person stops breathing for 10–20 seconds during a night’s sleep. There is nothing to worry about, since then normal respiratory activity is restored. The body of those people who have been diagnosed with Undina’s curse syndrome does not include the “automatic” regulation of breathing.
A person cannot breathe on his own, and a state of dysrhythmic hypoventilation occurs, or, more simply, choking. At the same time, a very small amount of oxygen enters the body, which leads to disturbances and malfunctions in the work of internal organs and systems.
What is the reason?
For many years, scientists and doctors in many countries have tried to answer the question of what is the "Curse of Ondine" and understand the causes of its occurrence. The first breakthrough in the study of this disease was made by scientists Sevringaus and Mitchell only in the second half of the 20th century as a result of studying a patient with a severe brain injury, because of which he lost automatic control over his own breathing. Researchers have been able to establish that Undine's Curse Syndrome is a form of a disease such as sleep apnea. However, scientists still could not answer the question of why this disease affects ordinary people.
Is the gene to blame?
Until today , doctors could not identify the root cause of this syndrome. More recently, French scientists have managed to find the "culprit" of respiratory arrest. It turned out to be the Thox2B gene. Thus, Undine's curse syndrome turned out to be a genetic disease, not inherited, but developing in the embryo during the prenatal period.
What can save?
If in former times children with a similar syndrome inevitably died, today doctors can help such patients live to adulthood using the following methods:
- implanting a special tube (tracheostomy) into the larynx and connecting the patient to the ventilator ;
- Every day before going to bed, put on a ventilation mask on the child.
German doctors have developed a method that allows you to implant a stimulator of pulses of the respiratory rhythm into the body, which allows patients to lead an almost normal life. The essence of the technique is that during a small surgical intervention, a special electrode is inserted into the phrenic nerve, which regulates respiratory activity during sleep.
Modern medicine cannot offer any other treatment for Undine’s curse syndrome, as it simply does not exist yet.
Risk groups
Each of us can face this disease. Indeed, adults are extremely rarely affected by this ailment for a simple but very scary reason: before, patients simply did not live to adulthood, dying in a dream. Most commonly, Undine's Curse Syndrome is diagnosed in newborns and infants. But middle-aged and older people, and in recent years also young men, suffer from other types of Ondine's curse - sleep apnea syndromes (CCA).
Apnea syndrome
In addition to the Undine syndrome described above, there are several more types of apnea (respiratory disorders in a dream):
- Central.
- Obstructive or peripheral.
- Mixed.
Most of us, without even knowing it, have repeatedly encountered this disease in everyday life. This is snoring, which is one of the symptoms and manifestations of peripheral apnea.
Let us consider in more detail the differences between the above respiratory disturbances in a dream.
Peripheral apnea
This type of respiratory dysfunction is a potentially life-threatening condition and is characterized by very frequent, more than 15 times in one hour, and rather long interruptions in respiratory activity, over 10 seconds. Such apnea in most cases occurs due to impaired passage of nerve impulses from the center in the brain to the muscles involved in breathing. In fact, snoring can also be caused by the anatomical features of the structure of the nasopharynx, but in most cases this type of disease is the curse of Undine - neuropathology, impaired functioning of the central nervous system (CNS).
Central view
Unlike peripheral, this type of apnea occurs due to various pathological changes in the brain due to past diseases, surgical interventions or injuries. In this case, respiratory effort does not occur, since the respiratory tract does not receive activating impulses from the central nervous system.
Mixed apnea got its name because in this syndrome of carotid apnea signs of both central and peripheral type are manifested. Most often, this type of respiratory disturbance occurs and is diagnosed in the first year of life of children.
Hazardous signs
There are a number of symptoms, having noticed one of them at home or your loved ones, you should definitely consult a doctor:
- Constant fatigue and fatigue.
- Violations of attention and memory.
- Chronic drowsiness, not passing even after a long sleep.
- Restless sleep and frequent waking up.
- Snore.
- Constant morning headaches.
The danger of any type of apnea is that the body does not get proper rest at night, because tissues, organs and systems work in an “emergency” mode due to the low level of oxygen entering them.
Developing for a long time, sleep apnea syndromes significantly increase the risk of diseases of the cardiovascular, endocrine, nervous and other body systems.
Of course, most symptoms can occur with other diseases, but it’s better to clarify the diagnosis with a specialist.