scholarly journals Pathogenesis of Cognitive Dysfunction in Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Hypothesis with Emphasis on the Nucleus Tractus Solitarius

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mak Adam Daulatzai

OSA is characterized by the quintessential triad of intermittent apnea, hypoxia, and hypoxemia due to pharyngeal collapse. This paper highlights the upstream mechanisms that may trigger cognitive decline in OSA. Three interrelated steps underpin cognitive dysfunction in OSA patients. First, several risk factors upregulate peripheral inflammation; these crucial factors promote neuroinflammation, cerebrovascular endothelial dysfunction, and oxidative stress in OSA. Secondly, the neuroinflammation exerts negative impact globally on the CNS, and thirdly, important foci in the neocortex and brainstem are rendered inflamed and dysfunctional. A strong link is known to exist between neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration. A unique perspective delineated here underscores the importance of dysfunctional brainstem nuclei in etiopathogenesis of cognitive decline in OSA patients. Nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) is the central integration hub for afferents from upper airway (somatosensory/gustatory), respiratory, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular (baroreceptor and chemoreceptor) and other systems. The NTS has an essential role in sympathetic and parasympathetic systems also; it projects to most key brain regions and modulates numerous physiological functions. Inflamed and dysfunctional NTS and other key brainstem nuclei may play a pivotal role in triggering memory and cognitive dysfunction in OSA. Attenuation of upstream factors and amelioration of the NTS dysfunction remain important challenges.

2010 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Kimoff ◽  
Q. Hamid ◽  
M. Divangahi ◽  
S. Hussain ◽  
W. Bao ◽  
...  

2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katya Christenson ◽  
Joseph Jacquemin ◽  
Steven Fannon ◽  
Davina Widjaja ◽  
Kathleen H. Sienko ◽  
...  

Obstructive sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder in which throat muscles relax during sleep, causing the upper airway to close. As a result, breathing ceases until a brief awakening restores the muscle tone and reopens the airway. Untreated sleep apnea contributes to cognitive, cardiovascular, and metabolic morbidity and has substantial negative impact on an individual’s quality of life. Treatment most commonly consists of nightly use of a nasal mask connected to a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine. The CPAP machine splints the upper airway open by supplying positive air pressure. However, the machine is expensive, requires electricity, and has suboptimal portability, noise, and aesthetics. The aim of this work was to develop a low-cost, lightweight, quiet, and mechanical CPAP machine that would function without an external energy source in resource-limited settings.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Nesrine S. El Sayed ◽  
Mamdooh H. Ghoneum

Background. Many neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease are associated with oxidative stress. Therefore, antioxidant therapy has been suggested for the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Objective. We investigated the ability of the antioxidant Antia to exert a protective effect against sporadic Alzheimer’s disease (SAD) induced in mice. Antia is a natural product that is extracted from the edible yamabushitake mushroom, the gotsukora and kothala himbutu plants, diosgenin (an extract from wild yam tubers), and amla (Indian gooseberry) after treatment with MRN-100. Methods. Single intracerebroventricular (ICV) injection of streptozotocin (STZ) (3 mg/kg) was used for induction of SAD in mice. Antia was injected intraperitoneally (i.p.) in 3 doses (25, 50, and 100 mg/kg/day) for 21 days. Neurobehavioral tests were conducted within 24 h after the last day of injection. Afterwards, mice were sacrificed and their hippocampi were rapidly excised, weighed, and homogenized to be used for measuring biochemical parameters. Results. Treatment with Antia significantly improved mice performance in the Morris water maze. In addition, biochemical analysis showed that Antia exerted a protective effect for several compounds, including GSH, MDA, NF-κB, IL-6, TNF-α, and amyloid β. Further studies with western blot showed the protective effect of Antia for the JAK2/STAT3 pathway. Conclusions. Antia exerts a significant protection against cognitive dysfunction induced by ICV-STZ injection. This effect is achieved through targeting of the amyloidogenic, inflammatory, and oxidative stress pathways. The JAK2/STAT3 pathway plays a protective role for neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases such as SAD.


2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 1271.1-1272
Author(s):  
S. Derham ◽  
J. Lewis ◽  
E. Dures ◽  
F. Cramp

Background:Adults with fibromyalgia frequently report symptoms of cognitive dysfunction, often referred to as fibrofog. However primary research exploring cognitive dysfunction in the lives of adults with fibromyalgia is very limited (Kravitz and Katz, 2015).Objectives:The aim of this review was to (i) synthesise the qualitative literature on the lived experiences of cognitive dysfunction in adults with fibromyalgia, (ii) develop common themes through thematic analysis and (iii) identify knowledge gaps to inform future research and clinical practice in this area.Methods:Seven electronic databases (MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Amed, Scopus and OpenGrey), reference lists of key articles and two high impact qualitative journals were searched from 1990 to November 2018. Articles were eligible for inclusion if they reported primary qualitative data exploring the experiences of cognitive dysfunction in adults with fibromyalgia. Included studies were appraised using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) qualitative checklist and extracted data analysed using narrative synthesis. SD conducted critical appraisal and data extraction on all included studies. FC, JL and ED reviewed five papers each. All papers were reviewed by two co-authors. Of the 1413 records identified, 15 studies were selected for inclusion.Results:These studies included 208 women and 22 men with fibromyalgia, aged 18 to 72 years and representing seven different countries. Duration of diagnosis was four months to 34 years. Fourteen studies used interviews and one used focus groups. None of the included studies focussed exclusively on cognitive function in adults with fibromyalgia. Three studies identified themes specific to cognitive dysfunction and fibromyalgia symptoms. The remaining 12 studies presented relevant data intertwined with the overall lived experiences of fibromyalgia.Cognitive dysfunction, as a part of fibromyalgia, was often unpredictable. Problems with memory and concentration that were most commonly reported were emotionally distressing and affected functional and vocational activities. Participants found communication effortful, with a negative impact on work, leisure and social activities. Stress, fear and worry around perceived cognitive changes were commonly expressed. Lost employment or changed work roles and relationships, due to cognitive difficulties, had negative impacts for many participants. The terms cognitive dysfunction and fibrofog were used interchangeably within the studies, but lacked common definition. This introduced uncertainty around whether participants and authors were describing the same phenomenon.Conclusion:Adults with fibromyalgia experience unpredictable and emotionally impactful difficulties related to cognitive dysfunction. Functional impact was broad-reaching, particularly around work ability and lost employment opportunities. It is unclear how cognitive symptoms in fibromyalgia related to co-morbid symptoms such as pain, fatigue and poor sleep. Further research focusing on the full impact of cognitive function on the lives of adults with fibromyalgia is recommended to inform clinical practice. Research to establish clarity of definition of the terms cognitive dysfunction and fibrofog within fibromyalgia is highly recommended.References:[1]Kravitz H, Katz R. Fibrofog and fibromyalgia: a narrative review and implications for clinical practice. Rheumatology International. 2015;35(7):1115-25.Acknowledgments:This work is supported by the National Institute for Heath Research [ICA-PCAF-2018-01-078 to SD]Disclosure of Interests:Sandra Derham: None declared, Jenny Lewis: None declared, Emma Dures Grant/research support from: Independent Learning Grant from Pfizer, combined funding for a research fellow from Celgene, Abbvie and Novartis, Paid instructor for: A fee from Novartis to deliver training to nurses., Fiona Cramp: None declared


ORL ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Lifeng Li ◽  
Demin Han ◽  
Hongrui Zang ◽  
Nyall R. London

<b><i>Objective:</i></b> The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of nasal surgery on airflow characteristics in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) by comparing the alterations of airflow characteristics within the nasal and palatopharyngeal cavities. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Thirty patients with OSA and nasal obstruction who underwent nasal surgery were enrolled. A pre- and postoperative 3-dimensional model was constructed, and alterations of airflow characteristics were assessed using the method of computational fluid dynamics. The other subjective and objective clinical indices were also assessed. <b><i>Results:</i></b> By comparison with the preoperative value, all postoperative subjective symptoms statistically improved (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.05), while the Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI) changed little (<i>p</i> = 0.492); the postoperative airflow velocity and pressure in both nasal and palatopharyngeal cavities, nasal and palatopharyngeal pressure differences, and total upper airway resistance statistically decreased (all <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.01). A significant difference was derived for correlation between the alteration of simulation metrics with subjective improvements (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.05), except with the AHI (<i>p</i> &#x3e; 0.05). <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Nasal surgery can decrease the total resistance of the upper airway and increase the nasal airflow volume and subjective sleep quality in patients with OSA and nasal obstruction. The altered airflow characteristics might contribute to the postoperative reduction of pharyngeal collapse in a subset of OSA patients.


SLEEP ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. A224-A225
Author(s):  
Fayruz Araji ◽  
Cephas Mujuruki ◽  
Brian Ku ◽  
Elisa Basora-Rovira ◽  
Anna Wani

Abstract Introduction Achondroplasia (ACH) occurs approximately 1 in 20,000–30,000 live births. They are prone to sleep disordered breathing specifically due to the upper airway stenosis, enlarged head circumference, combined with hypotonia and limited chest wall size associated with scoliosis at times. The co-occurrence of sleep apnea is well established and can aide in the decision for surgical intervention, however it is unclear at what age children should be evaluated for sleep apnea. Screening is often delayed as during the daytime there is no obvious gas exchange abnormalities. Due to the rareness of this disease, large studies are not available, limiting the data for discussion and analysis to develop guidelines on ideal screening age for sleep disordered breathing in children with ACH. Methods The primary aim of this study is to ascertain the presence of sleep disorder breathing and demographics of children with ACH at time of first polysomnogram (PSG) completed at one of the largest pediatric sleep lab in the country. The secondary aim of the study is to identify whether subsequent polysomnograms were completed if surgical interventions occurred and how the studies differed over time with and without intervention. Retrospective review of the PSGs from patients with ACH, completed from 2017–2019 at the Children’s Sleep Disorders Center in Dallas, TX. Clinical data, demographics, PSG findings and occurrence of interventions were collected. Results Twenty-seven patients with the diagnosis of ACH met criteria. The average age at the time of their first diagnostic PSG was at 31.6 months of age (2.7 years), of those patients 85% had obstructive sleep apnea (OSA),51% had hypoxemia and 18% had hypercapnia by their first diagnostic sleep study. Of those with OSA, 50% were severe. Majority were females, 55%. Most of our patients were Hispanic (14%), Caucasian (9%), Asian (2%), Other (2%), Black (0%). Each patient had an average of 1.9 PSGs completed. Conclusion Our findings can help create a foundation for discussion of screening guidelines. These guidelines will serve to guide primary care physicians to direct these patients to an early diagnosis and treatment of sleep disordered breathing. Support (if any):


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