Sleep Apnea, Neurocognitive Decline and Brain Imaging in Patients With Subjective or Mild Cognitive Impairment

Recruiting now

Conditions studied: Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Mild Cognitive Impairment, Subjective Cognitive Impairment

In brief

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is recurrent episodes of partial or complete obstruction of the upper airway during sleep that causes intermittent hypoxia and sleep fragmentation and potentially lead to cardiometabolic and neurocognitive sequelae. Chronic intermittent hypoxia, sleep fragmentation of OSA, and insufficient sleep have been significantly associated with higher risks of neurocognitive impairment, including mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease. Thus, sleep and sleep apnea might be modifiable factors to neurocognitive impairment. Positive airway pressure (PAP) is the first line of treatment to maintain open airways for patients with OSA. Improving sleep, sleep apnea and circadian function could be a high-value intervention target to alleviate cognitive impairment and decline in subjects with mild neurocognitive impairment. Amyloid accumulation in brain tissue is a distinct feature of Alzheimers' disease, which is associated with potential impairment of neurocognition clinically. It predicts memory decline in initially cognitively unimpaired individuals. The study explores the associations between sleep apnea, cognitive function and cerebral imaging and the role of PAP therapy on neurocognitive trajectory in these patients with subjective cognitive impairment /mild cognitive impairment (SCI/MCI).

Key facts

Study ID

NCT06150352

Run by

The University of Hong Kong

People needed

180

Starts

2023-09-26

Expected to finish

2027-03-31

Last updated by the study team

2025-04-02

Who can join

Age: 50 and older, up to 80. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Aged 50 - 80 years
• Diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment based on Peterson's criteria.
• Diagnosis of subjective cognitive impairment, based on the subjective complaint of cognitive impairment, but with an unremarkable assessment of the Hong Kong version of Montreal cognitive Assessment scores
• Able to speak and read Chinese
• Adequate visual and auditory to perform a cognitive test
• Subjects with moderate-severe OSA or No OSA (diagnosis based on sleep study) would be invited for baseline PET-MRI brain scan

You may not qualify if…

• Diagnosed psychiatric illness with or without medication, e.g. major depressive disorder.
• Other clear organic causes of cognitive impairment, e.g. vascular cognitive impairment, brain tumour, dementia with Lewy body, mild cognitive impairment with Lewy body, Parkinson's disease, normal pressure hydrocephalus, neurosyphilis, autoimmune encephalitis, substance abuse, history of alcohol abuse.
• Diagnosis of cancer on active treatment
• Contraindications to PET-CT or MRI brain scan (excluded for neuroimaging studies)

Where it is running

• Queen Mary Hospital — Hong Kong, Hong Kong (enrolling)

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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