Bédard M A, Montplaisir J, Malo J, Richer F, Rouleau I
Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur and Université de Montréal, Québec, Canada.
J Clin Exp Neuropsychol. 1993 Mar;15(2):330-41. doi: 10.1080/01688639308402567.
The obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is characterized by nocturnal sleep disturbance, excessive daytime sleepiness and neuropsychological deficits in the areas of memory, attention, and executive tasks. In the present study, these clinical manifestations were assessed in apneic patients before and 6 months after treatment with nasally applied continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). CPAP treatment was found to restore normal respiration during sleep and to normalize sleep organization. Daytime vigilance greatly improved with treatment but some degree of somnolence as compared to normal controls persisted. Similarly, most neuropsychological deficits normalized with treatment. The exception was for planning abilities and manual dexterity, two neuropsychological deficits that have been found to be highly correlated with the severity of nocturnal hypoxemia. These results raise the possibility that anoxic brain damage is a pathogenic factor in severe obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.
阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停综合征的特征为夜间睡眠障碍、日间过度嗜睡以及在记忆、注意力和执行任务等方面的神经心理学缺陷。在本研究中，对呼吸暂停患者在经鼻持续气道正压通气（CPAP）治疗前和治疗6个月后评估了这些临床表现。发现CPAP治疗可恢复睡眠期间的正常呼吸并使睡眠结构正常化。治疗后日间警觉性显著改善，但与正常对照组相比仍存在一定程度的嗜睡。同样，大多数神经心理学缺陷经治疗后恢复正常。例外的是计划能力和手部灵活性，这两项神经心理学缺陷已被发现与夜间低氧血症的严重程度高度相关。这些结果提示缺氧性脑损伤可能是重度阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停综合征的致病因素。
