Internal Medicine Practice · Leipzig
dr. med. univ. albrecht wenzel
When sleep disrupts your metabolism.
The Night — Sleep Disorders & Apnea
What happens at night is decided by day.
In obstructive sleep apnea, the throat muscles relax during sleep and the airways narrow — often dozens of times per hour. Most people notice nothing but daytime fatigue. We clarify what happens at night: on an outpatient basis, in your own bed.
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Sleep Diagnostics & CPAP
Ambulatory polygraphy, CPAP initiation at home (for mild to moderate sleep apnea) and CPAP follow-up — from one source.
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Sleep Apnea & CPAP Therapy
For moderate to severe apnea, CPAP remains the gold standard — often as a bridge until other levers take effect.
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Sleep Disorders
Structured assessment of difficulty falling and staying asleep — from the sleep diary to an overnight recording.
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Snoring Assessment
When is snoring harmless, when is it a sign of sleep apnea? Screening in the practice.
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Self-test: how tired are you really?
The validated Epworth questionnaire — 8 questions, 2 minutes, instant scoring. Your answers stay on your device.
Free
of people with severe obesity have obstructive sleep apnea — in most of them it had not been diagnosed before.Ravesloot et al., Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 2012 — polysomnography in 279 patients before bariatric surgery.
hours of sleep on two nights: 28 % more of the hunger hormone ghrelin, 18 % less of the satiety hormone leptin and markedly more appetite — especially for calorie-dense food.Spiegel et al., Ann Intern Med 2004 — 12 healthy young men, crossover design.
The Night — Instrument-based Diagnostics
The sleep lab — for your home.
Sleep is best measured where it happens: in your own bed. Mobile polysomnography records a full night — sleep stages, breathing, oxygen, heart rate and body position — without waiting for a lab slot.
Polysomnography (Private)
The mobile home sleep study — with EEG to identify sleep stages (N1–REM), plus airflow, oxygen saturation and movement patterns across a full night. For private and self-pay patients, billed per GOÄ, with short waiting times.
To polysomnography →Ambulatory Polygraphy
The screening method when sleep apnea is suspected: breathing, oxygen and snoring sounds in one night at home — covered by insurance where indicated.
To sleep diagnostics →Snoring Screening
Loud, irregular snoring with pauses in breathing is the most common first symptom of sleep apnea. With questionnaire and overnight recording we clarify whether there's more behind it.
To snoring assessment →The Dawn — The Vicious Cycle
Sleep and weight — one cycle.
Sleep apnea fragments sleep and shifts the hunger hormones: more ghrelin, less leptin, more cortisol. The result is more appetite and an unfavourable fat distribution — including in the throat, which in turn worsens the apnea. This is exactly where treatment begins: at both ends.
Apnea → Weight
Fragmented sleep lowers the satiety hormone leptin and raises ghrelin and cortisol. The body craves quick energy — weight rises, often viscerally.
To sleep apnea →Weight → Apnea
Fat deposits in the throat narrow the airways further — the apnea worsens. The circle closes and starts again.
To obesity therapy →Recognise → Understand
BIA measurement distinguishes fat from muscle mass, polygraphy clarifies the apnea. Only the full picture shows where the cycle is best broken.
To body composition →less body weight was associated with about 26 % fewer nightly breathing pauses in a long-term study — in mild sleep apnea, weight loss can in suitable cases make CPAP therapy unnecessary.Peppard et al., JAMA 2000 (Wisconsin Sleep Cohort); Tuomilehto et al., Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2009.
The guideline on sleep-related breathing disorders explicitly recommends weight reduction for overweight patients.
Poor sleep and excess weight reinforce each other.
A cycle — one that can be broken at both ends.
The Day — Obesity Treatment
Weight is the strongest lever.
Weight reduction acts on the cause of sleep apnea — and improves blood pressure and metabolism at the same time. The foundation is always lifestyle: nutrition, movement and sleep. Medication can support that path — it cannot replace it. We treat according to the S3 obesity guideline: multimodal, destigmatising, and guided by what the findings actually show.
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Obesity Therapy
Weight reduction per S3 guideline: BIA measurement, laboratory screening, nutritional counseling and, where sensible, medical support.
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BIA Measurement
The scale shows a weight. BIA shows what it consists of: muscle, fat, water — the basis for evidence-based weight management.
IGeL -
Nutritional Medicine
Nutritional counseling based on BIA measurement and laboratory values — structured, evidence-based, without diet dogma.
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Extended Consultation
On Thursdays we take time for history, diagnostics and findings review — for private and self-pay patients.
The Day — Medical Options
GLP-1 — when the injection supports.
GLP-1 receptor agonists and dual incretins (semaglutide, tirzepatide) amplify the effect of the body's own satiety hormones. In the SURMOUNT-OSA trial, tirzepatide markedly reduced the number of breathing pauses in obese sleep apnea patients — alongside weight loss (Malhotra et al., N Engl J Med 2024). The decision is always made by the person, not the medication.
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GLP-1 Therapy
Support with semaglutide and tirzepatide: initial consultation, diagnostics, treatment planning, prescription and follow-up — with an honest assessment of benefit.
IGeL -
Why sleep matters for weight loss
Less sleep means more hunger, more belly fat and poorer treatment results. What the research shows — and what you can do.
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Extended Consultation
Medical GLP-1 support is a self-pay service — we discuss scope and cost transparently in the extended Thursday consultation.
The Practice
About the doctor.
dr. med. univ. Albrecht Wenzel
One practice, one focus: This site is the sleep-medicine offering of the internal medicine practice of dr. med. univ. Albrecht Wenzel — not a separate facility. Same practice, same team, same address at Georg-Schumann-Straße 257.
Board-certified specialist in internal medicine, focusing on the metabolic syndrome and its interconnections — in particular the interplay of sleep and weight.
Treatment is consistently based on the current S3 guidelines of the professional societies.
- Obesity specialistDAG-DDG 2024
- Nutritional medicineLÄK 2024
- DiabetologyLÄK 2024
- Sleep medicinein training
This site shows the Sleep & Weight focus. The practice also offers diabetology and full primary care — to the practice's main website →
Contact
Contact & opening hours.
| Monday | 08:00 – 12:00 · 13:00 – 15:00 |
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| Tuesday | 08:00 – 12:00 · 13:00 – 18:00 |
| Wednesday | 08:00 – 12:00 · 13:00 – 15:00 |
| Thursday | 08:00 – 12:00 · 13:00 – 15:30 (extended consult., by appt.) |
| Friday | 08:00 – 12:00 |
| Mon & Tue | 08:00 – 09:30 |
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| Wed – Fri | 08:00 – 09:00 |
Emergency: In medical emergencies, please call emergency services on 112. Outside consultation hours, the medical on-call service (116 117) can help.