Publications by authors named "Maria R Bonsignore"

Telemedicine (TM) as a means of remote patient-physician interaction is gaining popularity in nearly every field, and (respiratory) sleep medicine is no exception. Because obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a chronic condition, and requires a continuous treatment and monitoring of therapy success, telematic communications could be useful to establish diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. This Statement summarises the evidence and efficacy of TM options in OSA.

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Adaptive servo-ventilation (ASV) has been considered effective in controlling various forms of central sleep apnoea (CSA) and also any additional obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) component. However, after the publication of the SERVE-HF study, its use was restricted in patients with systolic heart failure (HF) and prevalent CSA, and was withheld from many patients with symptomatic CSA. In the meantime, the devices have been further developed and the algorithms adapted, and there is new evidence from randomised controlled trials and observational studies that makes it necessary to re-evaluate some societies' statements on the use of ASV, especially in patients with HF and CSA and with the current ASV devices.

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Purpose: Telemedicine is useful for home management of sleep disordered breathing (SDB). However, the number of patients with SDB is high and public resources are low. The aim of this pilot study, conducted by the Universities of Pisa and Palermo, was to assess whether an external Medical Center, based on telemonitoring, could help in the management of patients on home positive airway pressure (PAP) treatment.

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Introduction: Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is a symptom of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) associated with the risk of accidents at work or while driving. OSA treatment decreases EDS, but some patients remain sleepy despite optimal control of OSA. Patients who do not tolerate or refuse OSA treatment may be symptomatically treated for EDS.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study evaluates a modified "Baveno classification" for treating obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) by incorporating a cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk score and considering severe breathing issues.
  • Researchers analyzed data from 8,625 OSA patients, categorizing them into risk groups and assessing the impact of treatment over 12-24 months using results from the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and systolic blood pressure (SBP).
  • Findings show that treatment indications increased with higher CVD risk, and significant improvements in sleepiness and blood pressure were noted, supporting the importance of CVD assessment in OSA management.
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  • Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) often causes excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), and pitolisant, a medication that targets histamine receptors, was tested for its efficacy in treating this issue in patients with moderate to severe OSA.
  • In a clinical trial with 361 participants, pitolisant was administered in varying doses up to 40 mg daily for 12 weeks, showing a significant reduction in EDS as measured by the Epworth Sleepiness Scale compared to a placebo.
  • The study found that pitolisant was well tolerated and improved not only daytime sleepiness but also reaction times and overall patient satisfaction, regardless of whether patients used continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy.
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Study Objectives: Obstructive sleep apnea is considered a risk factor for sleepiness at the wheel and near-miss accidents (NMA). To date, there are subjective and objective methods such as the Maintenance of Wakefulness Test (MWT) to investigate sleepiness. However, these methods have limitations.

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  • Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a common condition that causes excessive daytime sleepiness despite treatment with CPAP therapy, prompting a study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of three approved medications: modafinil, solriamfetol, and pitolisant.
  • A systematic review identified 20 randomized controlled trials involving 4015 patients, analyzing the effectiveness of these drugs using various sleepiness and quality of life metrics, as well as safety profiles.
  • Findings indicated that solriamfetol and pitolisant showed significant improvements in reducing daytime sleepiness, while pitolisant was ranked highest for safety and overall benefit-risk balance compared to the other medications tested.
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Increased oxidative stress within the airways is associated to epithelial damage and amplification of inflammatory responses that in turn contribute to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) progression. This study was aimed to identify whether a new formulation of N-acetylcisteine (NAC), carnitine, curcumin and B2 vitamin could counteract oxidative stress and downstream pro-inflammatory events promoted by cigarette smoke extract (CSE) exposure in primary bronchial epithelial cells (PBEC), both submerged/undifferentiated (S-PBEC) and cultured at the air-liquid interface (ALI-PBEC). PBEC were exposed to CSE with/without the new formulation or NAC alone and ROS production, IL-8 and IL-6 gene expression and protein release were evaluated.

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Over the past few years, there has been a surge in interest regarding the connection between sleep duration and quality, sleep disorders, mainly Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and Vitamin D. There is growing evidence to support a new role of Vitamin D in the maintenance and regulation of optimal sleep. Furthermore, a notable link has been identified between OSA and a decrease in serum Vitamin D levels, which appears to intensify as the severity of sleep apnea worsens.

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BackgroundAdherence to continuous positive air pressure (CPAP) in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) has remained invariably low over the last decades. Remote monitoring of the nocturnal CPAP treatment, within telemedicine (TM)-based follow-up programs, in these patients has been suggested as a potential tool to improve adherence and release the workload of sleep units. The aim of this study was therefore to assess whether a follow-up program carried out by a Remote Medical Care Centre (RMCC), outside the sleep unit, improves adherence to CPAP in the short and long term in patients with OSA.

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Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with the progression of cardiovascular diseases, arrhythmias, and sudden cardiac death (SCD). However, the acute impacts of OSA and its consequences on heart function are not yet fully elucidated. We hypothesized that desaturation events acutely destabilize ventricular repolarization, and the presence of accompanying arousals magnifies this destabilization.

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Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) can occur in both rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM sleep or be limited to REM sleep, when the upper airway is most prone to collapse due to REM sleep atonia. Respiratory events are usually longer and more desaturating in REM than in NREM sleep. The prevalence of REM OSA is higher in women than in men and REM OSA usually occurs in the context of mild-moderate OSA based on the apnoea-hypopnoea index calculated for the entire sleep study.

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Introduction: Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), especially obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), is commonly associated with respiratory diseases, such as COPD, asthma and interstitial lung disease.

Areas Covered: This narrative review aims to comprehensively synthesize the existing information on SDB in respiratory diseases, investigate the role of gender in this association, and highlight the importance of OSA management in improving sleep, quality of life, and disease prognosis in these specific patient populations.

Expert Opinion: Research indicates a synergistic link between OSA and chronic respiratory diseases, which leads to greater morbidity and mortality compared to each disorder alone.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the effects of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) overlapping with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), known as OVS, on sleep quality and cardiovascular health.
  • Researchers compared clinical data of patients with OVS to those with only OSA, finding that OVS patients had worse sleep quality and higher rates of heart disease.
  • Results showed OVS leads to more severe nocturnal hypoxia and poorer sleep efficiency, significantly increasing the risk for conditions like hypertension and heart failure.
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Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a common disease in the general population, and is associated with increased cardiovascular risk and several comorbidities. Obesity favours upper airway collapsibility, but other pathophysiological traits have been identified, i.e.

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Background: The prevalence of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is growing as the population is ageing. However, data on the clinical characteristics of elderly patients with OSA and their adherence to positive airway pressure (PAP) treatment are scarce.

Methods: Data from 23 418 30-79-year-old OSA patients prospectively collected into the ESADA database during 2007-2019 were analysed.

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We recruited 5,970 hypertensive patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) on current antihypertensive treatment from the European Sleep Apnea Database (ESADA) cohort. The group was subdivided into those receiving monotherapy (n = 3,594) and those receiving dual combined therapy (n = 2,376). We studied how major OSA confounders like age, gender, and body mass index as well as the degree of sleep apnea modified office systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

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Sleepiness at the wheel (SW) is recognized as an important factor contributing to road traffic accidents, since up to 30 percent of fatal accidents have been attributed to SW. Sleepiness-related motor vehicle accidents may occur both from falling asleep while driving and from behavior impairment attributable to sleepiness. SW can be caused by various sleep disorders but also by behavioral factors such as sleep deprivation, shift work and non-restorative sleep, as well as chronic disease or the treatment with drugs that negatively affect the level of vigilance.

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Article Synopsis
  • Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is a common issue for individuals with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), linked to complex factors like insufficient sleep and depression, but its clinical measurement is challenging.
  • The Epworth Sleepiness Scale is a subjective tool used to assess EDS, though its reliability is under scrutiny, while objective tests like the multiple sleep latency test are not frequently used in OSA patients due to their cost and complexity.
  • There are new wake-promoting medications available for EDS in OSA patients in the U.S. and Europe, and this review will explore EDS's significance for OSA diagnosis, its prevalence in treated patients, and the development of treatment options in Europe.
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