Relationship of neurospecific proteins with neuroimaging and cognitive disorders in patients with obstructive sleep apnea

Abstract

Aim. To evaluate the relationship of neurospecific proteins with neuroimaging and cognitive impairment in patients with OSA.Materials and methods. 65 patients were examined. Two groups of patients were distinguished: the main group – with moderate and severe OSA, the control group – without OSA. The subjects underwent anthropometry, polysomnography, magnetic resonance imaging of the brain (MRI GM), assessment of cognitive impairment. Glial fibrillar acidic protein (GFAP), antibodies to the NR2 subunit of NMDA (AT to GRIN2A), and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) were studied by enzyme immunoassay.Results. The majority of patients with apnea were found to have pre-dementia disorders on the MMSE scale, leukoareosis, subcortical gliosis, and subarachnoid space (SP) expansion according to GMRI with a body mass index of more than 38 kg/ m2 and a neck volume of more than 45 cm. The sizes of the bodies of the lateral ventricles and 3th ventricle in patients with apnea were larger than the age hole. GFAP and BDNF levels were significantly higher in patients in the main group. Negative correlations were established between the average level of BDNF content and SP expansion and between BDNF and the body index of the lateral ventricles.Conclusion. The neuromarker GFAP has shown itself to be a predictor of nervous system damage in patients with OSA. The most representative marker of neuroplasticity in sleep apnea patients is BDNF. Despite the high chances of its increase in patients with OSA, this does not compensate for the chances of pre-dementia cognitive impairment. According to MRI GM in patients with OSA, along with vascular lesions (leukoareosis, subcortical gliosis) atrophic changes are detected.