Impact of obesity on cognitive outcome in children with sleep-disordered breathing.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of obesity on cognitive impairment, in children with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), children with OSA and obesity, and in normal controls.

Methods: Thirty-six children with OSA (group 1), 38 children with OSA and obesity (group 2) and 58 normal controls (group 3) were studied. The Total intelligence quotient (T-IQ), Verbal IQ (V-IQ) and the Performance IQ (P-IQ) scores were obtained using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Third Edition Revised.

Salivary biomarkers of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in children.

Objectives: The present pilot study was performed to evaluate the HPA axis and ANS activity by measuring salivary cortisol and α-amylase diurnal trajectory and production, respectively, in mild or moderate-to-severe (MS) OSA-affected, but otherwise healthy, children. Moreover, a correlative analysis was performed between the salivary biomarker concentrations and the PSG variables characterizing the OSA severity.

Methods: We studied 27 consecutive OSA patients (13 mild OSA; 14 MS OSA) and seven healthy children who were enrolled as controls by collecting salivary samples and measuring cortisol and α-amylase levels using enzyme-linked bioassays.

Adenotonsillectomy and orthodontic therapy in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea.

Purpose: Rapid maxillary expansion (RME) is an additional treatment in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The aim of this study was to present data about the outcome of adenotonsillectomy (AT) and of RME in a clinical sample of pediatric OSA.

Methods: We consecutively enrolled children with OSA to undergo RME or AT.

Epilepsy and sleep-disordered breathing as false friends: a case report.

Because signs of nocturnal seizures can overlap with sleep respiratory events, clinicians can have difficulty distinguishing abnormal events related to sleep disorders from epileptic seizures. We describe the case of a 3-year-old child presenting with ictal electroencephalographic (EEG) activity associated with a particular form of atypical obstructive sleep apnea, characterized by increased respiratory rate, paradoxical breathing, desaturations, and tonic-dystonic posture associated with movement artifacts. Following cardiorespiratory polysomnography, the patient was initially misdiagnosed as having severe obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.

The cooccurrence of interictal discharges and seizures in pediatric sleep-disordered breathing.

Studies in the literature data have shown that the prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in children with epilepsy is high and that treatment for OSA leads to a reduction in the number of seizures; by contrast, few studies have demonstrated an increased prevalence of interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs) or epilepsy in children with sleep-disordered breathing (SDB). The aim of the present study was to confirm the high prevalence of IEDs or epilepsy in a large sample of children with SDB and to collect follow-up data. Children were recruited prospectively and underwent their first video-polysomnography (video-PSG) for SDB in a teaching hospital sleep center.