Objective To explore effects of edaravone on apoptosis and expressions of apoptotic proteins Smac and XIAP in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cell of rats under intermittent hypoxia. Methods A total of 96 adult male Wistar rats were randomly divided into control group, 5% intermittent hypoxic group and edaravone group, and each group was divided into 4 time groups at 7 d, 14 d, 21 d and 28 d, respectively, with 8 rats in each subgroup. The content of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in hippocampal tissues of the experimental rats was detected by the reactive oxygen species detection kit. Immunohistochemistry and Western blot were used to detect the expressions of Smac and XIAP protein in hippocampal CA1 region. The Tunel method detected the apoptosis of neurons. Results Compared with the control group, the content of ROS, the expressions of Smac and XIAP proteins and the neuronal apoptosis index in the hippocampus were increased in the 5% intermittent hypoxia group and the edaravone group at each time point (all P<0.05). The content of ROS, the Smac protein expression and the neuronal apoptosis index in the edaravone group were significantly lower than those in the 5% intermittent hypoxia group (all P<0.05). The expression of XIAP protein in the edaravone group was significantly higher than that in the 5% intermittent hypoxia group (P<0.05). Conclusion Edaravone may improve the antioxidant capacity of the body by scavenging oxygen free radicals and regulate Smac and XIAP- mediated apoptosis, thus playing a protective role on neurons.
Sleep electroencephalogram (EEG) is an important index in diagnosing sleep disorders and related diseases. Manual sleep staging is time-consuming and often influenced by subjective factors. Existing automatic sleep staging methods have high complexity and a low accuracy rate. A sleep staging method based on support vector machines (SVM) and feature selection using single channel EEG single is proposed in this paper. Thirty-eight features were extracted from the single channel EEG signal. Then based on the feature selection method F-Score's definition, it was extended to multiclass with an added eliminate factor in order to find proper features, which were used as SVM classifier inputs. The eliminate factor was adopted to reduce the negative interaction of features to the result. Research on the F-Score with an added eliminate factor was further accomplished with the data from a standard open source database and the results were compared with none feature selection and standard F-Score feature selection. The results showed that the present method could effectively improve the sleep staging accuracy and reduce the computation time.
Objective To investigate the effect of postoperative sleep disturbance by infusion of low dose esketamine during ambulatory laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Methods Patients undergoing ambulatory laparoscopic cholecystectomy under general anesthesia in General Hospital of Northern Theater Command between August and November 2024 were selected. They were randomly divided into esketamine group and control group based on a random number generator. Patients in the esketamine group received a continuous infusion of esketamine [0.3 mg/(kg·h)] during the operation. Patients in the control group received the equivalent volume of saline. The scores of the Athens Insomnia Scale on the first day before surgery, the first day after surgery, and the third day after surgery, the incidence of sleep disturbance and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale score on the first day and the third day after surgery, mean artial pressure and heart rate during surgery, operation time, anesthesia time, recovery time, total dosage of remifetanil and vasoactive drug, postoperative adverse reactions, and the Visual Analogue Scale score on the day of surgery and the first day after surgery were compared between the two groups. Results A total of 105 patients were included, including 52 in the control group and 53 in the esketamine group. The differences were statistically significant in the incidence of sleep disorders on the first day after surgery (22.64% vs. 46.15%; χ2=6.440, P=0.011), the Athens Insomnia Scale score on the first day after surgery [4 (1.5, 5) vs. 5 (4, 7); Z=−2.933, P=0.003] , the cumulative amount of remifentanil used during surgery [884 (600, 1 112) vs. 572 (476, 872) μg; Z=−2.774, P=0.006], and the Visual Analogue Scale score on the day of surgery [2 (2, 3) vs. 3 (2, 3); Z=−2.488, P=0.013] between the esketamine group and the control group. There was no significant difference in mean arterial pressure, heart rate, operation time, anesthesia time, recovery time, vasoactive drug dosage, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale score or incidence of postoperative adverse reactions between the two groups (P＞0.05). Conclusion Continuous intraoperative infusion of low dose esketamine can improve postoperative sleep disturbance, without increasing the incidence of postoperative adverse reactions in patients undergoing ambulatory laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
Sleep apnea causes cardiac arrest, sleep rhythm disorders, nocturnal hypoxia and abnormal blood pressure fluctuations in patients, which eventually lead to nocturnal target organ damage in hypertensive patients. The incidence of obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) is extremely high, which seriously affects the physical and mental health of patients. This study attempts to extract features associated with OSAHS from 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure data and identify OSAHS by machine learning models for the differential diagnosis of this disease. The study data were obtained from ambulatory blood pressure examination data of 339 patients collected in outpatient clinics of the Chinese PLA General Hospital from December 2018 to December 2019, including 115 patients with OSAHS diagnosed by polysomnography (PSG) and 224 patients with non-OSAHS. Based on the characteristics of clinical changes of blood pressure in OSAHS patients, feature extraction rules were defined and algorithms were developed to extract features, while logistic regression and lightGBM models were then used to classify and predict the disease. The results showed that the identification accuracy of the lightGBM model trained in this study was 80.0%, precision was 82.9%, recall was 72.5%, and the area under the working characteristic curve (AUC) of the subjects was 0.906. The defined ambulatory blood pressure features could be effectively used for identifying OSAHS. This study provides a new idea and method for OSAHS screening.
Objective To evaluate the application value of optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). Methods A comprehensive search of both domestic and international databases was conducted to identify clinical studies on the use of OCTA in OSAS, from the establishment of the databases to May 2024. A meta-analysis was performed using Revman 5.4 software. Results A total of 134 studies were initially identified, with 14 studies meeting the inclusion criteria, encompassing 999 subjects (739 in the OSAS group and 260 in the healthy group). Meta-analysis results indicated that the superficial capillary plexus (SCP) density in the fovea (MD=–2.05, 95%CI –3.75 to –0.35, P=0.02) and parafovea (MD=–1.56, 95%CI –2.44 to –0.68, P=0.000 5) was significantly lower in the OSAS group compared with the healthy group. In the mild to moderate OSAS group, SCP density was significantly lower in the fovea (MD=–2.41, 95%CI –4.32 to –0.49, P=0.01), parafovea (MD=–1.17, 95%CI –2.01 to –0.32, P=0.007), and perifovea (MD=–1.73, 95%CI –2.69 to –0.77, P=0.000 4) compared with the healthy group. In the severe OSAS group, SCP density in the perifovea (MD=–1.33, 95%CI –2.53 to –0.13, P=0.03) was significantly lower than that of the healthy group. SCP density in the whole area (MD=0.36, 95%CI 0.05 to 0.68, P=0.02) was significantly higher in the mild to moderate OSAS group compared with the severe OSAS group. In the deep capillary plexus (DCP) density, the OSAS group showed significantly lower densities in the whole area (MD=–2.16, 95%CI –3.51 to –0.81, P=0.002), fovea (MD=–2.38, 95%CI –4.38 to –0.37, P=0.02), and parafovea (MD=–2.33, 95%CI –3.93 to –0.73, P=0.004) compared with the healthy group. The mild to moderate OSAS group also showed significantly lower densities in the whole area (MD=–2.02, 95%CI –3.33 to –0.72, P=0.002) and parafovea (MD=–1.65, 95%CI –3.04 to –0.26, P=0.02) compared with the healthy group. The severe OSAS group had significantly lower DCP density in the whole area (MD=–2.26, 95%CI –3.85 to –0.66, P=0.006) and parafovea (MD=–1.47, 95%CI –2.31 to –0.62, P=0.000 7) compared with the healthy group. DCP density in the whole area (MD=0.54, 95%CI 0.02 to 1.07, P=0.04) was significantly higher in the mild to moderate OSAS group compared with the severe OSAS group. Regarding the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness, the inferior quadrant (MD=4.01, 95%CI 0.69 to 7.32, P=0.02) and temporal quadrant (MD=4.35, 95%CI 1.88 to 6.82, P=0.000 6) were significantly thicker in the mild to moderate OSAS group compared with the severe OSAS group. In terms of the foveal avascular zone (FAZ) area, the severe OSAS group showed a significantly larger FAZ area (MD=0.06, 95%CI 0.03 to 0.08, P<0.000 01) compared with the healthy group. Conclusion OCTA-related ocular biomarkers may be associated with the occurrence and progression of OSAS and have potential applications in the diagnosis and treatment of OSAS.
Objective To evaluate the effectivity of dexmedetomidine on the early postoperative quality of recovery in patients undergoing ambulatory knee arthroscopy under general anesthesia. Methods Patients scheduled for knee arthroscopy at the Day Surgery Center of the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University between June and September 2024 were selected. According to the computer-generated random allocation, patients were randomly divided into the dexmedetomidine group (Dex group) and the saline control group (NS group). The Dex group received a continuous infusion of dexmedetomidine at a rate of 0.04 µg/(kg·h) until discharge, whereas the NS group was administered a comparable volume of saline. The primary outcome measure was the EuroQol Five-Dimensional Five-Level (EQ-5D-5L) score for health-related quality of life measured at the postoperative 24 hours. Secondary outcome measures included the Athens Insomnia Scale score on the night of surgery and the incidence of adverse reactions such as nausea and vomiting within 24 hours postoperatively. Results A total of 60 patients were included, with 30 patients in each group. There were statistically significant differences in the EQ-5D-5L health scores at the postoperative 24 hours (0.857±0.081 vs. 0.721±0.098) and the Athens Insomnia Scale scores [2.00 (2.00, 3.00) vs. 4.00 (3.00, 5.25)] on the night of surgery between the Dex group and the NS group (P<0.05). The difference in the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting between the two groups was not statistically significant [1 case (3.3%) vs. 5 cases (16.7%); χ2=1.667, P=0.197]. No adverse reactions such as bradycardia, hypotension, urinary retention, respiratory depression, dizziness and lethargy occurred in both groups. Conclusion Dexmedetomidine can significantly improve the early postoperative quality of life and sleep in patients undergoing ambulatory knee arthroscopy, thereby facilitating early postoperative quality of recovery.
Objective To explore the correlation between the levels of serum nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) as well as heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and cognitive dysfunction by determining the levels of Nrf2 and HO-1 in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) to different degrees and combining Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA). Methods Serum levels of Nrf2 and HO-1 were determined in 32 patients with mild-moderate OSA, 23 patients with severe OSA and 20 healthy controls. The differences of Nrf2 and HO-1 levels among groups were compared. All subjects were evaluated by MoCA score. According to MoCA score, OSA patients were divided into two groups: OSA with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) group and OSA with normal cognition group. Serum Nrf2 and HO-1 levels were compared between the two groups, and the differences in the OSA patients with or without cognitive impairment were understood. Spearman correlation coefficient was used to explore the correlation between serum Nrf2 and HO-1 levels and cognitive function of OSA patients. The diagnostic value of serum Nrf2 and HO-1 in the OSA patients with cognitive impairment was determined by receiver operating characteristic curve. Results Serum levels of Nrf2 and HO-1 in the mild-moderate and severe OSA groups were higher than those in the control group, and those in the severe OSA group were higher than those in the mild-moderate OSA group (P<0.05). Compared with the OSA with normal cognition group, the serum HO-1 level in the OSA patients with MCI was higher (P<0.05), but the serum NRF2 level had no significant difference between the two groups (P>0.05). There was a negative correlation between serum HO-1 level and total MoCA score in the OSA patients (r=–0.495, P=0.000), but there was no significant correlation between serum Nrf2 and total MoCA score in the OSA patients (P>0.05). Serum Nrf2 and HO-1 were 0.791 and 0.818 for predicting OSA patients with cognitive impairment. The sensitivity was 84.20% and 86.80%, and the specificity was 67.60% and 73.00%, respectively. Conclusions Serum Nrf-2 and serum HO-1 play important role in the pathogenesis of OSA. Serum HO-1 level may be closely related to cognitive dysfunction in OSA patients. Detection of serum HO-1 may be helpful in early identification of cognitive dysfunction in OSA patients, which has potential clinical application value.
Sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) is a kind of common and harmful systemic sleep disorder. SAS patients have significant iconography changes in brain structure and function, and electroencephalogram (EEG) is the most intuitive parameter to describe the sleep process which can reflect the electrical activity and function of brain tissues. Based on the non-stationary and nonlinear characteristics of EEG, this paper analyzes the correlation dimension of sleep EEG in patients with SAS. Six SAS patients were classed as SAS group and six healthy persons were classified into a control group. The results showed that the correlation dimension of sleep EEG in the SAS group and the control group decreased gradually with the deepening of sleep, and then increased to the level of awake and light sleep stage with rapid eye movement (REM). The correlation dimension of SAS group was significantly lower than that of control group (P<0.01) throughout all the stages. The results suggested that there were significant nonlinear dynamic differences between the EEG signals of SAS patients and of healthy people, which provided a new direction for the study of the physiological mechanism and automatic detection of SAS.
Objective To explore the causal association between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and venous thromboembolism (VTE). Methods Using the summary statistical data from the FinnGen biological sample library and IEU OpenGWAS database, the relationship between OSA and VTE, including deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism, was explored through Mendelian randomization (MR) method, with inverse variance weighted (IVW) as the main analysis method. Results The results of univariate MR analysis using IVW method showed that OSA was associated with VTE and pulmonary embolism (P<0.05), with odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals of 1.204 (1.067, 1.351) and 1.352 (1.179, 1.544), respectively. There was no correlation with DVT (P>0.05). Multivariate MR analysis showed that after adjustment for confounding factors (smoking, diabetes, obesity and cancer), OSA was associated with VTE, DVT and pulmonary embolism (P<0.05), with odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals of 1.168 (1.053, 1.322), 1.247 (1.064, 1.491) and 1.158 (1.021, 1.326), respectively. Conclusion OSA increases the risk of VTE, DVT, and pulmonary embolism.
Objective To investigate the differences in clinical characteristics and polysomnographic characteristics between the elderly obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome ( OSAHS) patients and the young and middle-aged OSAHS patients. Methods The clinical manifestations and the polysomnographic characteristics of 37 elderly OSAHS patients and 294 young and middle-aged patients were analyzed. The differences in polysomnographic indicators between two groups were compared according to the body mass index.Results The nocturia frequency in the elderly OSAHS patients was higher( P =0. 01) ,however, the othert clinical manifestations between the elderly group and the young and middle-aged group were not different significantly. The elderly group had a lower body mass index ( P =0. 018) , a smaller neck circumference ( P =0. 003) , and a larger chance of diabetes ( P = 0. 001) and hypertension( P lt; 0. 001) .The phase Ⅰ and phase Ⅱ sleep of the elderly group took a longer duration ( P lt; 0. 001) and a larger proportion( P lt;0. 001) . The sleep apnea-hypopnea index between two groups did not show any significant difference( P =0. 082) . The lowest night oxyhemoglobin saturation of the elderly group was higher than that of the young and middle-aged group( P =0. 009) , but such difference disappeared after adjustment by weight ( P =0. 114) . Conclusions The major clinical manifestations of the elderly OSAHS patients are similar to the young and middle-aged patients. The elderly patients are thinner than the young and middle-aged patients, but have more complications and a higher frequency of nocturia. The night oxyhemoglobin saturation is lower in young and middle-aged patients which is associated with higher body mass index.