Open AccessAssessment of neural alterations in obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome: can apparent diffusion coefficient measurements be useful?
Author(s) -
Kacar Emre,
Sarinc Ulasli Sevinc,
Günay Ersin,
Güngör Gülay,
Ünlü Ebru,
Beker Acay Mehtap,
Koyuncu Tülay,
Ünlü Mehmet,
Haktanir Alpay
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the clinical respiratory journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.789
H-Index - 33
eISSN - 1752-699X
pISSN - 1752-6981
DOI - 10.1111/crj.12201
Subject(s) - medicine , effective diffusion coefficient , insula , putamen , magnetic resonance imaging , diffusion mri , pons , cardiology , midbrain , nuclear medicine , radiology , neuroscience , central nervous system , psychology
Background and Aims Our aim was to investigate whether neurological alteration in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome ( OSAS ) with apparently normal cerebral and cerebellar structures can be assessed by means of apparent diffusion coefficient ( ADC ) measurement and to investigate the association between OSAS severity and ADC values. Methods Following the acquisition of diffusion‐weighted cranial magnetic resonance imaging, ADC measurements were performed in 24 different apparently normal cerebral and cerebellar structures, including the bilateral frontal and parietal cortices, insulae, cingulate gyri, hippocampi, frontal and parieto‐occipital periventricular white matter ( PWM ), caudate nuclei, putamen, thalami, cerebellar hemispheres, pons and mesencephalon in 47 OSAS patients and 20 control subjects. The ADC values of the patients and the control group were compared. The association between the apnoea–hypopnoea index ( AHI ) and the ADC values of the patients were investigated. Results The ADC values in the bilateral frontal PWM were lower in the patient group than those in the control subjects ( P < 0.05). The measurements in the right cingulate gyri of the OSAS patients exhibited significantly higher ADC values than those of the control group ( P = 0.002). Bilateral thalamic ADC values in severe OSAS patients were significantly higher than those in mild and moderate OSAS patients ( P < 0.05). Conclusion The ADC measurement is a simple and effective technique to evaluate neural alteration of the brain in patients with OSAS . ADC measurements can also be useful in the evaluation of the association between the AHI and the degree of neural alteration in the central nervous system.