Clinical Research Directory

Impact of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Therapy on Bilateral Local Hippocampal Gray Matter Volume in Elderly Patients With Obstructive Sleep Apnea - Study BBBSAS

This study evaluates whether treating severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) for approximately 6 months modifies local hippocampal and frontal cortex gray matter volume and blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability in elderly men. Twenty-five men aged 70 years or older with newly diagnosed, previously untreated severe OSA (apnea-hypopnea index \[AHI\] \> 30) are compared with 25 age- and body-mass-index-matched control men without OSA (AHI \< 10, oxygen desaturation index \< 10). All participants undergo a comprehensive neurocognitive assessment, instrumented gait and balance analysis, blood and urine sampling for systemic inflammatory and aquaporin markers, and a multimodal brain MRI with intravenous Gadolinium injection to quantify BBB permeability and gray/white matter volume. Patients repeat the MRI, cognitive testing, and gait/balance assessment after approximately 6 months of CPAP therapy, once adequate treatment adherence (≥5 hours/night). The main hypothesis is that severe untreated OSA is associated with focal BBB permeability abnormalities in the hippocampus and frontal cortex, and that effective CPAP treatment partially reverses these anatomical and functional changes, together with improvements in executive/memory performance, gait, balance, and systemic inflammation. Results are expected to clarify the neurocognitive impact of OSA in the elderly, help target patients who most need treatment, and identify complementary pharmacological targets.

Value of Screening and Treatment of SAHS in the Management of AF Ablation Candidates

The present prospective cohort study (not randomized) analyses the value of screening and treatment of SAHS in the management of patients with AF refractory to antiarrhythmics drugs, potentially candidates for ablation. Patients at low risk of suffering from SAHS will follow conventional management of their AF, according to the usual criteria of the Arrhythmia Unit. Patients with high or intermediate risk of SAHS, will undergo respiratory polygraphy. If the result is positive, they will be treated as standard for this syndrome and their heart rate will be monitored for 3 months. After this, the patient's arrhythmic load will be reevaluated differentiating patients into two groups, those that must be ablated from those that have improved their condition and the clinical criteria is no longer ablation but follow-up.