Christian Guilleminault (1938–9 July 2019) was a French physician and researcher in the field of

sleep medicine Sleep medicine is a medical specialty or subspecialty devoted to the diagnosis and therapy of sleep disturbances and disorders. From the middle of the 20th century, research has provided increasing knowledge of, and answered many questions a ...

who played a central role in the early discovery of obstructive

sleep apnea Sleep apnea (sleep apnoea or sleep apnœa in British English) is a sleep-related breathing disorder in which repetitive Apnea, pauses in breathing, periods of shallow breathing, or collapse of the upper airway during sleep results in poor vent ...

and made seminal discoveries in many other areas of

Career

Born in 1938 in Marseilles, France, he earned his medical degree and PhD at the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

, and completed residencies in psychiatry and neurology in Paris and at the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public university, public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by French theologian John Calvin as a Theology, theological seminary. It rema ...

. While working at the Stanford University Sleep Disorders Clinic in 1972 as a visiting assistant professor, Guilleminault became keenly interested in reports published by Italian sleep researcher Elio Lugaresi who had reported that nocturnal hypertension was present in patients who snored. Guilleminault persuaded cardiologists John Shroeder and Ara Tilkian to spend nights in the hospital's

clinical research center The term "Clinical research center" (CRC) or "General clinical research center" (GCRC) refers to any designated medical facility used to conduct clinical research, such as at a hospital or medical clinic."Clinical Research Center definition" Medi ...

monitoring the systemic and pulmonary arterial

blood pressure Blood pressure (BP) is the pressure of Circulatory system, circulating blood against the walls of blood vessels. Most of this pressure results from the heart pumping blood through the circulatory system. When used without qualification, the term ...

in sleeping patients. The team observed that when patients fell asleep and began snoring, prolonged pauses in their breathing (apneas) were noted that corresponded with dramatic elevations in their resting blood pressure, simulating strenuous exercise as if the patient were lifting weights.William C. Dement, ''The Promise of Sleep'', Random House Inc. 1999, pg. 179 Guilleminault then went on to publish several articles illustrating dramatic improvements and reversal of sleep apnea following tracheostomies. Tracheostomy proved curative in these patients, and demonstrated reversal of cardiac arrhythmias and blood pressure abnormalities during sleep; temporarily capping these artificial airways would re-capitulate the changes of sleep apnea, further establishing the causative relationship between sleep apnea and cardiovascular abnormalities. Guilleminault then went on to describe obstructive sleep apnea in non-obese patients, being the first to coin the term " obstructive sleep apnea syndrome" (OSAS), a term commonly used nowadays. In addition, he described the presence of OSAS in children, demonstrating its association with learning and attention problems along with cardiovascular derangements. Following this work, he went on to describe the presence of elevated upper airway resistance in children in 1982, emphasizing the symptoms of attention deficit, hyperactivity, and abnormal behavior during wakefulness and sleep, learning disabilities and sleepwalking, sleep terrors and enuresis that accompanied this form of sleep-related breathing disorder; he described the same syndrome in adults and penned the term "

upper airway resistance syndrome Upper airway resistance syndrome (UARS) is a sleep disorder characterized by the narrowing of the airway that can cause disruptions to sleep. The symptoms include snoring, unrefreshing sleep, fatigue, sleepiness, chronic insomnia, and difficulty c ...

" (UARS) in adults. Finally, working in collaboration with Dr. William C. Dement, Guilleminault established the

Apnea–hypopnea index The Apnea–Hypopnea Index or Apnoea–Hypopnoea Index (AHI) is an index used to indicate the severity of sleep apnea. It is represented by the number of apnea and hypopnea events per hour of sleep. Apnea is the complete absence of airflow throug ...

(AHI), which is still in use today to characterize the presence and severity of sleep apnea. Guilleminault continued to be a prolific researcher in the field of sleep medicine until his death. He authored over seven hundred and forty (743) articles in peer-reviewed

medical journal A medical journal is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that communicates medical information to physicians, other health professionals. Journals that cover many medical specialties are sometimes called general medical journals. History The first ...

s and won several awards for his research in the field of sleep medicine. He was a founding member of the Association of Sleep Disorders Centers in 1975 and was elected as the first editor of the journal ''

Sleep Sleep is a state of reduced mental and physical activity in which consciousness is altered and certain Sensory nervous system, sensory activity is inhibited. During sleep, there is a marked decrease in muscle activity and interactions with th ...

'' in June 1976, a role in which he continued to serve until 1997.

Personal life

He was married to Priscilla Grevert with two sons, Eric and Damian Guilleminault.

Death

He died on 9 July 2019, from complications related to metastatic

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

Books

* Sleep Medicine, An Issue of Medical Clinics of North America (2010) * Sleepiness, An Issue of Sleep Medicine Clinics (2006) * Clinical Neurophysiology of Sleep Disorders: Handbook of Clinical Neurophysiology Series (2005) * Fatal Familial Insomnia: Inherited Prion Diseases, Sleep and the Thalamus (1994) * Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome: Clinical Research and Syndrome (1990) * Sleep and its Disorders in Children (1987) * Sleeping and Waking Disorders: Indications and Techniques (1982) * Progress in Perinatal Neurology (1981) * Advances in Perinatal Neurology (1979)

Selected awards and honors

* Doctor "Honoris Causa", University of Liege (School of Medicine) (Belgium) (2004) * Distinguished Scientist Award, Sleep Research Society (2005) * Honorary professor, Department of Oto-laryngology, Medical Sciences School of the Capital University, Beijing, China (2005) * Life Achievement Award, National Sleep Foundation (2005) * Doctor "Honoris Causa", ''Universite de Montreal'' (Canada) (2013)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guilleminault, Christian 20th-century French physicians 2019 deaths Sleep researchers 1938 births Deaths from prostate cancer in California Stanford University faculty Stanford University School of Medicine faculty University of Paris alumni University of Geneva alumni