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Central sleep apnea in multiple sclerosis: a pilot study

  • Sleep Breathing Physiology and Disorders • Short Communication
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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the present study is to investigate sleep-disordered breathing and symptoms of sleepiness in a consecutive clinical cohort of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients.

Methods

Twenty-one (16 females) community-dwelling adults aged 18–75 years with MS and an Expanded Disability Status Scale score between 2 and 6 were recruited consecutively from an academic teaching hospital MS clinic. Participants performed a home sleep study (ResMed ApneaLink Plus) to objectively quantify sleep-disordered breathing. Subjective sleepiness and its impact were assessed using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire.

Results

Three (one female) of the 19 participants who completed home overnight testing had central sleep apnea (median apnea-hypopnea index = 15 [range = 8–36] events/h sleep, median nadir SaO2 = 88 % [range = 81–88]). There were no cases of obstructive sleep apnea. Thirty-three percent of participants reported excessive daytime sleepiness, and 71% reported poor sleep quality.

Conclusions

Home sleep testing was well tolerated, and a high proportion of central rather than obstructive sleep apnea was observed in a clinical MS sample. Possible reasons include brainstem or spinal cord lesions from MS affecting the control of breathing. Poor sleep quality and daytime sleepiness were common in this group.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA), PO Box 1165, Randwick, Sydney, 2031, NSW, Australia

    Michael Lin, Arun V. Krishnan & Danny J. Eckert

  2. Prince of Wales Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Michael Lin & Arun V. Krishnan

  3. School of Medical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Danny J. Eckert

Authors
  1. Michael Lin
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  2. Arun V. Krishnan
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  3. Danny J. Eckert
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Danny J. Eckert.

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Funding

A National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC) Program Grant on Motor Impairment (1055084) provided financial support for this study. The ApneaLink devices used for the home sleep studies were provided by ResMed. AVK was supported by a Career Development Fellowship from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (1065663). DJE is supported by a NHMRC RD Wright Fellowship (1049814) and NeuroSleep, a NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence (1060992). The funding body had no role in the design or conduct of this research.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Lin, M., Krishnan, A.V. & Eckert, D.J. Central sleep apnea in multiple sclerosis: a pilot study. Sleep Breath 21, 691–696 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-016-1442-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-016-1442-9

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