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Plasma orexin-A-like immunoreactivity in patients with sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome
Tsuguo Nishijima1, Shigeru Sakurai, Zenei Arihara
1Third Department of Internal Medicine, Iwate Medical University School of Medicine, 19-1 Uchimaru, Morioka 020-8505, Japan. tsuguo@ck-.so-net.ne.jp
Abstract:
Orexin-A (hypocretin-1), a neuropeptide produced in hypothalamus, stimulates arousal. We studied plasma concentrations of orexin-A-like immunoreactivity (orexin-A-LI) in 156 patients with sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (SAHS) and 22 control subjects. Plasma orexin-A-LI levels were significantly decreased in 156 patients with SAHS (4.4+/-0.15 pmol/l, mean+/-S.E.) as compared with controls (5.3+/-0.45 pmol/l). The levels were decreased in parallel with the severity of sleep-related respiratory disturbance and magnitude of sleep fragmentation. These findings raise the possibility that a low plasma level of orexin-A-LI may be a marker to show the severity of the disease in patients with SAHS.