[Activity of the telomerase complex before and after CPAP therapy in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome]

To evaluate changes in the activity of the telomerase complex in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) before and after continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy.

In accordance with the objectives of the stages of the study of telomers-telomerase relationships, we maintained the unified design of the study described earlier. The main group 1 (MG₁), n=35, consisted of men, aged 53.4 [45.5-60.1] years with characteristic complaints indicating of OSA. The main group 2 (MG₂) included the same patients before and after 6 months of CPAP therapy. Blood sampling was performed after the first diagnostic polysomnography (PSG) and after 6 months of CPAP in the morning after the second PSG. The control group (CG) consisted of 26 men, comparable in age and the presence of chronic diseases. Questionnaire, PSG and blood sampling were conducted in CG as well. All participants signed an informed consent.

As a result of the STOP-BANG questionnaire conducted before PSG, all patients in the MG1 had scores from 5 to 8. The scores on the Epworth scale were more than 5 points. In the MG₂ apnea-hypopnea index decreased from 20.1 to 6.4 ev/hour, the desaturation index decreased from 15.6 to 7.1 ev/hour after 6 months of CPAP. Statistically significant differences in changes in the activity of the telomerase complex were revealed, which after treatment significantly exceed the values of these indicators before treatment. So, telomerase reverse transcriptase value was 0.04 (0.009; 0.06) in the MG₁, after treatment it was 0.07 (0.06; 0.09) in the MG₂ and 0.134 (0.009; 0.18) in the CG. Telomerase RNA subunit TER1 values were 0.06 (0.03; 0.09), 0.07 (0.05; 0.09) and 0.136 (0.04; 0.17), respectively. However, despite the activation of the telomerase complex during CPAP therapy in patients with OSA, in the CG its activity is significantly higher in comparison with the MG₁ and MG₂.

In OSA accompanied by intermittent hypoxia, a decrease in the activity of the telomerase complex was shown. Elimination of nocturnal hypoxia and improvement of breathing during sleep is accompanied by an increase in the activity of the components of the telomerase complex.