Impact of obstructive sleep apnoea on cognitive function in multiple sclerosis: A longitudinal study.

Impact of obstructive sleep apnoea on cognitive function in multiple sclerosis: A longitudinal study. J Sleep Res. 2020 Aug 13;:e13159 Authors: McNicholas N, Russell A, Nolan G, Tubridy N, Hutchinson M, Garvey JF, McGuigan C Abstract Cognitive impairment (CI) and fatigue are common in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), with well-known profound effects on quality of life. Sleep disorders, including obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), are also common in MS patients. The presence of CI has previously been shown to strongly correlate with OSA diagnosed using polysomnography in MS. Treatment of OSA has not previously been investigated as a potential modality to improve cognition in MS patients. Therefore, we sought to investigate the potential effects of OSA treatment on both cognitive function and fatigue in MS patients. Twenty-three participants with MS reporting significant fatigue were enrolled. CI was assessed by the Brief International Cognitive Assessment in MS and the 3-second Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test. All participants underwent overnight polysomnography to assess for possible OSA. Cognitive and fatigue measures were repeated in those subsequently treated for OSA and in a comparative untreated sample. Seven participants (30%) had a diagnosis of OSA based on an apnoea-hypopnea index greater than 5 per hour, with no correlation between the presence of CI and OSA. Verbal learning at follow-up assessment was seen to improve s...
Source: Journal of Sleep Research - Category: Sleep Medicine Authors: Tags: J Sleep Res Source Type: research