Pattern of cortical thinning in patients with mild cognitive impairment associated with obstructive sleep apnea compared to patients with age‐associated mild cognitive impairment

Authors: Poosanu Thanapornsangsuth, Anthipa Chokesuwattanaskul, Kammant Phanthumchinda, Yuttachai Likitjaroen

Published: 2020-12-07

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundObstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a reversible cause of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). There are evidences that OSA associated with decline of brain cortex. The pattern of cortical thinning in OSA associated MCI has not been well characterized. This study sought to assess pattern of cortical thinning in MCI patients with OSA (MCI‐OSA).MethodWe analyzed magnetic resonance images (MRI) of MCI‐OSA and age associated (MCI‐AA) to determine difference in cortical atrophy pattern between two groups. Firstly, cortical surfaces were reconstructed from each patient’s MRI. Cortical thickness measurement was then processed on these surfaces. At last, thickness comparison between the two groups was performed using vertex‐by‐vertex general linear model (GLM) and standard t‐test.ResultSubjects were consecutively recruited including 22 MCI‐OSA patients and 20 MCI‐AA patients. Compared to MCI‐AA, MCI‐OSA patients has larger brain volume (p=0.002). Using GLM, we found 3 large clusters in the left anterior cingulate, the left and right lateral occipital cortices that were significantly thinner in MCI‐OSA (p<0.001, p=0.005, p=0.001, respectively). Using t‐test, we found 11 cortical regions with different thicknesses between the two groups. Only the left anterior cingulate cortex remained significantly thinner in the MCI‐OSA group using both methods.ConclusionWe demonstrated that MCI‐OSA patients had significant thinning of left anterior cingulate gyrus as compared to MCI‐AA despite having larger brain volume.