Serum amyloid-beta levels are increased in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.

ABSTRACT: A critical link between amyloid-beta (A?) and hypoxia has been demonstrated in in vitro and animal studies but has not yet been proven in humans. Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a common disorder that is characterized by nocturnal intermittent hypoxaemia. This study sought to examine the association between the chronic intermittent hypoxia and A? in OSAS patients. Forty-five cognitively normal OSAS patients and forty-nine age- and gender-matched subjects diagnosed with simple snoring and not OSAS were included in the present study. Serum A?40, A?42, total tau and phosphorylated tau 181 (P-tau 181) levels were measured using ELISA kits. All subjects were evaluated with nighttime polysomnography and cognitive tests. Compared with the controls, the OSAS patients exhibited significantly higher serum A?40, A?42 and total A? levels, and each of these levels was positively correlated with the apnea-hypopnea index, the oxygen desaturation index, and the mean and lowest oxyhaemoglobin saturations in the OSAS patients. Moreover, the OSAS patients exhibited strikingly higher serum P-tau 181 levels, and these levels were positively correlated with serum A? levels. This study suggests that there is an association between chronic intermittent hypoxia and increased A? levels, implying that hypoxia may contribute to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease.

SUBMITTER: Bu XL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4563592 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature