Hypoventilations centrales : de l'enfant à l'adulte

The automatic control of ventilation takes place in the brainstem in pacemaker neurons (in the pre-Bötzinger complex and the parafacial respiratory group). Ondine's curse syndrome is the congenital central hypoventilation syndrome. This disease is responsible for a reduction or even total absence of ventilatory response to hypercapnia, which causes severe and fatal hypoventilations during sleep and sometimes during awakening. The treatment is ventilatory assistance or sometimes phrenic pacemaker. There is no retrotrapezoid nucleus. Dysautonomic manifestations are present. Late forms exist in adults.