title: Reversibility of the endothelial dysfunction after CPAP therapy in OSAS patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) is a common airways disease which often involves cardiovascular structures, causing vessel inflammation as well as hypoxia, induced by difficulties in the passage of air through the upper airways. Aim of our research is to evaluate the effects of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) on the syndrome itself and the patients cardiovascular risk profile, practically adopting Flow-Mediated Vasodilation (FMD) technique to evaluate endothelial function.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We enrolled 63 patients (49 males and 14 female, mean age: 54 ± 10 years) subdivided into four groups: high cardiovascular risk factors, no CPAP therapy, CPAP therapy started less- and more than 3 months before. The patients underwent FMD of the brachial artery using a high resolution ultrasonograph connected to an image analysis system. The maximum recovery value was calculated as the ratio (maximum-baseline) of the change in diameter over the baseline value. Data obtained from this study demonstrate the significant reversibility of FMD in patients treated for more than 3 months with CPAP therapy (Group 4).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study shows the importance of administering CPAP therapy for more than 3 months in patients suffering from OSAS to improve EF to a level equal to high cardiovascular risk subjects probably due to a recovery from the systemic hypoxia. Besides, our work points out the importance of FMD as a "clinical" tool able to point out any improvement or regression after therapies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, University of Bari, Italy. ciccone@cardio.uniba.it
authors.forename: Marco Matteo
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Ciccone
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Favale
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Scicchitano
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mangini
authors.forename: Gianfranco
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mitacchione
authors.forename: Felice
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gadaleta
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Longo
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Iacoviello
authors.forename: Cinzia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Forleo
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Quistelli
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Taddei
authors.forename: Onofrio
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Resta
authors.forename: Pierluigi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Carratù
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001916:Brachial Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D045422:Continuous Positive Airway Pressure; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D020127:Recovery of Function / Q000502:physiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D014463:Ultrasonography; D014664:Vasodilation / Q000502:physiology