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 sleep disorder, disorders. From the middle of the 20th century, research has provided increasing knowledge and answered many ...

who played a central role in the early discovery of obstructive

sleep apnea Sleep apnea, also spelled sleep apnoea, is a sleep disorder in which pauses in breathing or periods of shallow breathing during sleep occur more often than normal. Each pause can last for a few seconds to a few minutes and they happen many times ...

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 , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

, 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 research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology until the 17th centu ...

. 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 monitoring the systemic and pulmonary arterial

blood pressure Blood pressure (BP) is the pressure of 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 "blood pressure" r ...

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 Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the most common sleep-related breathing disorder and is characterized by recurrent episodes of complete or partial obstruction of the upper airway leading to reduced or absent breathing during sleep. These episo ...

" (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 A sleep-related breathing disorder is a sleep disorder in which abnormalities in breathing occur during sleep that may or may not be present while awake. According to the International Classification of Sleep Disorders, sleep-related breathing dis ...

; he described the same syndrome in adults and penned the term " upper airway resistance syndrome" (UARS) in adults. Finally, working in collaboration with Dr.

William C. Dement William Charles Dement (July 29, 1928 – June 17, 2020) was an American sleep researcher and founder of the Sleep Research Center at Stanford University. He was a leading authority on sleep, sleep deprivation and the diagnosis and treatment of s ...

, 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 sedentary state of mind and body. It is characterized by altered consciousness, relatively inhibited sensory activity, reduced muscle activity and reduced interactions with surroundings. It is distinguished from wakefulness by a de ...

'' 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 cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...

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 Stanford University faculty Stanford University School of Medicine faculty University of Paris alumni University of Geneva alumni