A team of scientists at Umeå University in Sweden has discovered a special group of muscle fibers in the soft palate of the human mouth.
Upper respiratory system, with soft palate labeled near center. Image credit: BruceBlaus / CC BY 3.0.
“This discovery of special group of fibers gives us deeper insight into the complex anatomy and physiology of the upper airway and evolutionary specialization,” said Dr Farhan Shah, a team member and the lead author of a paper in the Journal of Anatomy.
According to the team, the newly discovered muscle fibers seem to be present in greater number in snorers and sleep apnea patients.
“These unique fibers have a special molecular build-up with an absence or modified design of some key proteins,” Dr Shah said.
“Surprisingly, absence of these proteins has only been reported in genetic muscular diseases.”
Dr Shah and co-authors have taken a new approach to see if snoring vibrations and tissue stretch can cause neuromuscular damage in upper airways and result in obstructive sleep apnea and swallowing dysfunction.
These unique fibers were discovered while investigating muscles from both healthy subjects and obstructive sleep apnea patients.
“It can be concluded that a subgroup of muscle fibers in the human soft palate appears to have special biomechanical properties, and their unique cytoarchitecture must be taken into account while assessing function and pathology in oropharyngeal muscles,” the scientists said.
“Our published findings are significant and will hopefully help guide more successful treatment strategies in the future,” said co-author Dr Per Stål.
“This is just a step along the way, but it is an important one.”
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Farhan Shah et al. Unique expression of cytoskeletal proteins in human soft palate muscles. Journal of Anatomy, published online November 24, 2015; doi: 10.1111/joa.12417
