Abstract

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to determine the differences of the muscle tissue markers between the patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) and the healthy individuals in both the diagnosis and post-treatment stages.

METHODS: Between August 2009 and January 2010, 54 patients (15 females, 39 males; mean age 48.8±9.3 years; range 27 to 60 years) (patient group) who were admitted to Bülent Ecevit University Faculty of Medicine Ear-Nose-Throat Outpatient Department with the complaints of sleep disturbances such as snoring, sleep apnea (witnessed apnea), and daytime sleepiness and diagnosed with OSAS using polysomnography (PSG) and 54 healthy subjects (17 females, 37 males; mean age 44.6±10.5 years; range 27 to 60 years) (control group) without snoring and who were treatment naïve were included. In the first stage, we evaluated the creatinine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and myoglobin levels of the blood tests of patients and control subjects. In the second stage, we classified the patients into two groups depending on the treatment options and evaluated the CK, LDH and myoglobin levels of the blood tests before treatment and at three months of treatment.

RESULTS: In the first stage evaluation, we detected that the CK values of the patient group was significantly higher, but no statistically significant differences were observed between either the LDH or myoglobin levels. In the second stage evaluation, we detected no statistically significant differences between the CK, LDH and myoglobin levels before and at three months of the treatment in the surgery group. In the group which underwent therapy with the non-invasive equipment (CPAP), we observed no statistically significant differences in the levels of CK, LDH and myoglobin of the pre-treatment period and at three months after the beginning of the therapy, while we found a statistically significant decrease in the levels of LDH after treatment.

CONCLUSION: Our study results suggest that OSAS may probably constitute some parts of the causes of mild to moderate hypercreatine kinasemia (hyperCKemia) and investigation of OSAS should be performed in patients with unexplained high CK levels for the possible presence of OSAS.