Effect of Noninvasive Mechanical Ventilation on Ventilatory Response in Patients With Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1

Type 1 Myotonic Dystrophy is a hereditary neuromuscular disease with an autosomal dominant pattern whose prevalence is 1/8000 inhabitants and is the most common muscular dystrophy in adults. It is multisystem disease and is characterized by myotonia, progressive muscle loss and a wide spectrum of manifestations.

Myotonic dystrophy type 1 causes a high impact on health and quality of life of patients as functional impairment can reach the incapacity and total dependence in basic activities of daily living. As in most neuromuscular diseases, progressive muscle weakness at some point in the evolution affects the respiratory muscles. However, in some patients with myotonic dystrophy type 1 it has been observed that muscle weakness does not explain ventilatory failure, and is believed to be due to a primary reduction in the central ventilatory response to hypercapnia present in this disease.

Non Invasive Mechanical Ventilation (NIV) is a long-term treatment that provides ventilatory assistance through an interface that does not invade the airway and currently can be provided to patients in the home environment; It is a resource that has shown to improve the quality of life, daytime gas exchange and survival in patients with neuromuscular diseases, even when used only during sleep. It is not clear the mechanism by which NIV during daytime sleep improves gas exchange in patients with neuromuscular diseases, even in advanced stages where breathing muscles effectors are severely affected.

It has been proposed that NIV used during sleep can improve the sensitivity of the respiratory center to carbon dioxide but this has not been demonstrated in patients with Type 1 Myotonic Dystrophy, to answer this question, it is proposed to compare the central ventilatory response to chemical stimuli after a period of NIV in patients with Type 1 Myotonic Dystrophy.