Obstructive sleep apnea, CPAP therapy and Parkinson's disease motor function: A longitudinal study.
INTRODUCTION
We aimed to assess, in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), the association between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), progression of motor dysfunction and the effect of OSA treatment.


METHODS
Data were analysed from a prospective cohort study of idiopathic PD patients from a movement disorders clinic. Patients found to have OSA on polysomnography (apnea-hypopnea index [AHI] ≥15 events/h, OSA+) were offered treatment using continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). CPAP+ was defined as an average ≥ 2 h/night use at each follow-up. Motor symptoms were assessed using the motor section of the Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (mUPDRS) and the Timed-Up-And-Go (TUG). Follow-up times were 3, 6 and 12 months. Mixed models were constructed, adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, levodopa equivalent dose and comorbidities.


RESULTS
We studied 67 individuals (61.2% male) of mean age 64.7 years (SD = 10.1). Baseline mUPDRS was higher in OSA+ compared to OSA- (24.5 [13.6] vs. 16.2 [7.2], p < 0.001). Motor dysfunction increased at comparable rates in OSA- and OSA+CPAP-. However, in OSA+CPAP+, mUPDRS change was significantly lower compared to OSA- (β = -0.01 vs. 0.61, p = 0.03; p = 0.12 vs. OSA+CPAP- [β = 0.39]) and TUG change was lower compared to OSA+CPAP- (β = -0.01 vs. 0.13, p = 0.002; p = 0.05 vs. OSA- [β = 0.02]).


CONCLUSIONS
In this PD cohort, OSA was associated with higher baseline mUPDRS. In those with OSA, CPAP use was associated with stabilization of motor function (mUPDRS and TUG) over 12 months. These observations support further research to clarify the role of OSA in PD pathophysiology and motor dysfunction.
['Meng|Lingrui|L|', 'Benedetti|Andrea|A|', 'Lafontaine|Anne-Louise|AL|', 'Mery|Victoria|V|', 'Robinson|Ann Ross|AR|', 'Kimoff|John|J|', 'Gros|Priti|P|', 'Kaminska|Marta|M|']
D000368:Aged D045422:Continuous Positive Airway Pressure D018450:Disease Progression D005260:Female D006801:Humans D008137:Longitudinal Studies D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care D010300:Parkinson Disease D017286:Polysomnography D011446:Prospective Studies D012720:Severity of Illness Index D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive
Obstructive sleep apnea Continuous positive airway pressure TUG Neurodegenerative disorders Parkinson disease Sleep disorders UPDRS