Grant: Project Grant

Sleep apnea (SA) is a highly prevalent respiratory disorder leading to several pathological complications, the most important being hypertension and metabolic syndrome, a pre-diabetic state. SA is a sex-specific disease and overall, women are less affected than men until the age of menopause. Sex-hormones such as estradiol is a key candidate to explain these differences. Accordingly, we are conducting pre-clinical studies with an animal model of sleep apnea to test the hypothesis that estradiol accounts for sex-specific pathological responses in an animal model of sleep apnea. We aim at identifying by which mechanisms and in which tissue (brain, adipose tissue, blood vessels) estradiol protects against the pathological responses in this model. On the long-term, our objective is to translate this knowledge from our laboratory to the "bedside" and develop new strategies based on hormonal therapy to reduce the pathological consequences of sleep apnea in postmenopausal women.