TY - JOUR T1 - Hypoglossal neurostimulation for obstructive sleep apnoea JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J SP - 257 LP - 258 DO - 10.1183/09031936.00132312 VL - 41 IS - 2 AU - Ferran Barbé AU - Juan F. Masa Y1 - 2013/02/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/41/2/257.abstract N2 - Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the gold-standard treatment for patients with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). Since its introduction in 1981 [1], hundreds of thousands of patients have been treated successfully all over Europe. CPAP treatment improves clinical symptoms, reduces road accidents, decreases blood pressure and probably lowers cardiovascular risk [2]. All these positive effects of CPAP treatment are dependent, however, on compliance with the treatment. As in any other chronic disease, ∼30% of OSA patients refuse treatment or do not follow it as required. The alternative treatments currently available for OSA are surgery, oral appliances and weight reduction. The success rate of such treatments is low and they are mainly reserved for patients with mild-to-moderate OSA.OSA is caused by an intermittent collapse of the upper airway. Since the seminal study by Remmers et al. [3], it has been known that this obstruction is related to a loss in the patency of the genioglossus muscle, the main dilator of the upper airway. Although electrical stimulation of pharyngeal muscles during sleep demonstrated its efficacy in studies in the mid-1990s, it was never successfully developed for use in clinical practice [4, 5]. More recently, various research groups have shown increasing interest in this potential treatment, generally by implanting an electrode in the hypoglossal nerve to allow activation of the … ER -