Greater attention should be paid to severe OSA, as it is an independent predictor for risk for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. CPAP is an effective treatment that reduces risk of mortality.

We confirmed that CPAP decreases the TC level, especially in OSAS patients who are younger, more obese, and who use CPAP for a longer period. CPAP did not alter TG, LDL, or HDL levels, suggesting that CPAP may have no clinically important effect on lipid metabolism.

Few clinical studies have explored altered urinary metabolite levels in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Thus, we applied a metabolomics approach to analyze urinary metabolites in three groups of participants: patients with polysomnography (PSG)-confirmed OSA, simple snorers (SS), and normal subjects. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry and gas chromatography coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry were used. A total of 21 and 31 metabolites were differentially expressed in the SS and OSA groups, respectively. Patients with OSA had 18 metabolites different from those with SS. Of the 56 metabolites detected among the 3 groups, 24 were consistently higher or lower. A receiver operator curve analysis revealed that the combination of 4-hydroxypentenoic acid, arabinose, glycochenodeoxycholate-3-sulfate, isoleucine, serine, and xanthine produced a moderate diagnostic score with a sensitivity (specificity) of 75% (78%) for distinguishing OSA from those without OSA. The combination of 4-hydroxypentenoic acid, 5-dihydrotestosterone sulfate, serine, spermine, and xanthine distinguished OSA from SS with a sensitivity of 85% and specificity of 80%. Multiple metabolites and metabolic pathways associated with SS and OSA were identified using the metabolomics approach, and the altered metabolite signatures could potentially serve as an alternative diagnostic method to PSG.

High-throughput sequencing revealed that the oral microbiome composition and function were significantly altered in pediatric OSA. Further studies are needed to confirm and determine the mechanisms underlying these findings.

Aim. Several studies have reported an association between self-reported habitual snoring and diabetes mellitus (DM); however, the results are inconsistent. Methods. Electronic databases including PubMed and EMBASE were searched. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the strength of the association between snoring and DM using a random-effects model. Heterogeneity, subgroup, and sensitivity analyses were also evaluated. Begg's, Egger's tests and funnel plots were used to evaluate publication bias. Results. A total of eight studies (six cross sectional and two prospective cohort studies) pooling 101,246 participants were included. Of the six cross sectional studies, the summary OR and 95% CI of DM in individuals that snore compared with nonsnorers were 1.37 (95% CI: 1.20–1.57, p < 0.001). There was no heterogeneity across the included studies (I 2 = 2.9%, p = 0.408). When stratified by gender, the pooled OR (95% CI) was 1.59 (1.20–2.11) in females (n = 12298), and 0.89 (0.65–1.22) in males (n = 4276). Of the two prospective studies, the pooled RR was 1.65 (95% CI, 1.30–2.08). Conclusions. Self-reported habitual snoring is statistically associated with DM in females, but not in males. This meta-analysis indicates a need to paying attention to the effect of snoring on the occurrence of DM in females.

This meta-analysis indicates that the IL-6 gene polymorphism -174 G/C, and not -572 G/C, is associated with adult OSA risk. Although IL-6 levels increased in OSA, CPAP did not significantly suppress them in adults with OSA. In children with OSA, IL-6 levels also increased and T&A therapy significantly decreased them.

In this work, we report a strengthened superheating effect caused by a buffering YBa 2 Cu 3 O y (Y123 or YBCO) layer in the Nd 1+x Ba 2-x Cu 3 O 7-y (Nd123 or NdBCO) thin film with MgO substrate (i.e., NdBCO/YBCO/MgO thin film). In the cold-seeding melt-textured (MT) growth, the NdBCO/YBCO/MgO film presented an even higher superheating level, about 20 °C higher than that of non-buffered NdBCO film (i.e., NdBCO/MgO film). Using this NdBCO/YBCO/MgO film as seeds and undergoing a maximum processing temperature (T max ) up to 1120 °C, we succeeded in growing various RE 1+x Ba 2-x Cu 3 O 7-y (REBCO, RE=rare elements) bulk superconductors, including Gd 1+x Ba 2-x Cu 3 O 7-y (GdBCO), Sm 1+x Ba 2-x Cu 3 O 7-y (SmBCO) and NdBCO that have high peritectic temperatures (T p ). The pole figure (X-Ray Φ-scan) measurement reveals that the NdBCO/YBCO/MgO film has better in-plane 2 alignment than the NdBCO/MgO film, indicating that the induced intermediate layer improves the crystallinity of the NdBCO film, which could be the main origin of the enhanced thermal stability. In short, possessing higher thermal stability and enduring a higher T max in the MT process, the NdBCO/YBCO/MgO film is beneficial to the growth of bulk superconductors in two aspects: (1) broad application for high-T p REBCO materials; (2) effective suppression against heterogeneous nucleation, which is of great assistance in growing large and high-performance REBCO crystals.

We demonstrated that patients with OSA had a higher percentage of dyslipidemia than subjects without OSA. Of the various components in serum lipid, only LDL-C was independently associated with OSA.