The Laryngoscope C 2014 The American Laryngological, V
Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.
Letter to the Editor
In Response to Snoring and Carotid Artery Intima-Media Thickness
In Reply, We would like to thank Sereflican et al. for their letter in response to our article “Snoring and Carotid Artery Intima-Media Thickening.”1 We are pleased that this area of sleep medicine is attracting the much needed attention that it deserves. In devising our study, we were hopeful that both clinicians and scientists would be interested in further investigating the relationship between primary snoring and other potentially serious medical conditions. These investigations could address a variety of issues surrounding the topic including disease manifestations of primary snoring, potential etiologies of these relationships, and possible synergistic effects of snoring and other disease conditions. Sereflican et al. have made the observation that the relationship between snoring and intima-media thickness could be the result of the autonomic nervous system. Although our study did not actually investigate this possibility, we do find this to be a very interesting theory, and their claim is supported by a variety of studies that they reference. One of the theories we put forth in our article is that vibratory mechanisms, given the proximity of the carotid artery to the source of the snoring, may have a contributing role. Like many things in medicine, the
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mechanism is likely very complicated and multifactorial. Our study did not specifically study possible etiologies but was intended to point out that a relationship exists. We believe that much more study is needed in this area. We are hopeful that studies can be designed that will strengthen the evidence for a causal relationship and identify possible mechanisms. ROBERT DEEB, MD PAUL JUDGE, MD KATHLEEN YAREMCHUK, MD Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Henry Ford Health System
JUDITH C. LIN, MD Department of Public Health Sciences-Division of Vascular Surgery, Henry Ford Health System
ED PETERSON, PHD Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Nebraska, Omaha Nebraska
BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Deeb R, Judge P, Peterson E, Lin JC, Yaremchuk K. Snoring and carotid artery intima-media thickness. Laryngoscope 2014;124:1486–1491.
Deeb et al.: Letter to the Editor
Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.
Letter to the Editor
In Response to Snoring and Carotid Artery Intima-Media Thickness
In Reply, We would like to thank Sereflican et al. for their letter in response to our article “Snoring and Carotid Artery Intima-Media Thickening.”1 We are pleased that this area of sleep medicine is attracting the much needed attention that it deserves. In devising our study, we were hopeful that both clinicians and scientists would be interested in further investigating the relationship between primary snoring and other potentially serious medical conditions. These investigations could address a variety of issues surrounding the topic including disease manifestations of primary snoring, potential etiologies of these relationships, and possible synergistic effects of snoring and other disease conditions. Sereflican et al. have made the observation that the relationship between snoring and intima-media thickness could be the result of the autonomic nervous system. Although our study did not actually investigate this possibility, we do find this to be a very interesting theory, and their claim is supported by a variety of studies that they reference. One of the theories we put forth in our article is that vibratory mechanisms, given the proximity of the carotid artery to the source of the snoring, may have a contributing role. Like many things in medicine, the
Laryngoscope 125: March 2015
E126
mechanism is likely very complicated and multifactorial. Our study did not specifically study possible etiologies but was intended to point out that a relationship exists. We believe that much more study is needed in this area. We are hopeful that studies can be designed that will strengthen the evidence for a causal relationship and identify possible mechanisms. ROBERT DEEB, MD PAUL JUDGE, MD KATHLEEN YAREMCHUK, MD Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Henry Ford Health System
JUDITH C. LIN, MD Department of Public Health Sciences-Division of Vascular Surgery, Henry Ford Health System
ED PETERSON, PHD Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Nebraska, Omaha Nebraska
BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Deeb R, Judge P, Peterson E, Lin JC, Yaremchuk K. Snoring and carotid artery intima-media thickness. Laryngoscope 2014;124:1486–1491.
Deeb et al.: Letter to the Editor
