Anti-oxidant treatment in obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome
Sadasivam K
Published in Indian Journal of Chest Diseases and Allied Sciences
Methodology
Randomised placebo-controlled trial; oral N-acetylcysteine or placebo for 30 days with polysomnography before and after plus fasting venous samples for oxidative stress markers.
Key Findings
20 patients with obstructive sleep apnoea were randomised to oral N-acetylcysteine (n = 10) or placebo (n = 10) for 30 days, with polysomnography before and after. In the NAC group, apnoea-hypopnoea index fell from 61.2 +/- 8.5 to 43.1 +/- 8.6 (p < 0.05), oxygen desaturation events per hour from 51.8 +/- 7.7 to 37 +/- 7.8 (p < 0.01) and the Epworth sleepiness score from 16.6 +/- 0.8 to 9.2 +/- 0.9 (p < 0.001), with slow wave sleep and sleep efficiency improving and snoring measures falling. No such changes occurred in the placebo group, and NAC significantly reduced lipid peroxidation while raising total reduced glutathione.
Conclusions
Oral NAC administration appears to have a therapeutic potential in the treatment of OSAS.
Limitations
Very small single-centre trial of 10 patients per arm over 30 days, with results presented as within-group before-and-after comparisons; the suggestion that NAC could reduce CPAP dependence is speculation beyond the data.
Supplements Studied
Oral NAC administration appears to have a therapeutic potential in the treatment of OSAS.
Related Health Concerns
Study Details
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