The obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is characterized by upper airway occlusion during sleep, resulting in sleep disturbance, hypoxemia, and daytime sleepiness. This study investigated the neuropsychological (NPSY) functioning, daytime sleepiness and vigilance of 17 male subjects (mean age = 45.2) with moderate to severe OSAS (mean Respiratory Disturbance Index = 65.1). Subjects were assessed before, three days, and two months after treatment with nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). Subjects were randomly assigned to two groups. Groups received three assessments consisting of a NPSY test battery, measurement of physiological/subjective sleepiness, and vigilance. After baseline assessment, ten subjects were treated with CPAP for three nights, while seven control subjects remained untreated. Control subjects' data for the second assessment was used to estimate practice and placebo effects. After the second assessment, all subjects were treated. / Results revealed that subjects did not show significant NPSY impairment before treatment despite showing near pathological levels of sleepiness and impaired vigilance. / After three nights of treatment, subjects evidenced significant improvement on only 1 of 18 NPSY measures (visual memory). Correlational analyses revealed an association between decreases in sleep fragmentation after acute treatment and improvement on tasks assessing visual memory, attention and concentration and verbal intellectual functioning. A relationship between improvement in nocturnal oxygen saturation and neuropsychological tests assessing attention and concentration and verbal intellectual functioning was also found. Vigilance and sleepiness were not improved. / At follow-up, only modest improvements in visual and verbal memory were found. Vigilance had returned to normal levels and sleepiness was significantly reduced but had not returned to normal levels. / The present study did not find evidence of significant NPSY dysfunction in OSAS patients before treatment. After correcting for practice effects, little improvement was seen in NPSY function after two months of CPAP treatment. These results highlight the importance of a control group in studies utilizing a repeated neuropsychological testing protocol. Further, it suggests that previous studies may have overestimated the improvement in cognitive functions of OSAS patients after treatment with CPAP. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-12, Section: B, page: 6452. / Major Professor: Jack G. May, Jr. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_77066 |
| Contributors | Bailey, G. Leonard., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 349 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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