Future Study to Investigate Sleep Apnea's Impact on Immune Traps and Cathelicidins

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a prevalent condition characterized by repeated episodes of intermittent hypoxia (low oxygen levels during sleep). This chronic physiological stress can significantly impact various bodily systems, including the immune response, potentially contributing to systemic inflammation and cardiovascular complications. The precise mechanisms by which intermittent hypoxia in OSA influences the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) and the role of antimicrobial peptides like cathelicidin LL-37 in this process remain largely unexplored.

As this is a planned clinical trial (NCT07129486) that is not yet recruiting, no experimental findings are available at this time. The study is designed to enroll 120 participants in total, comprising 80 individuals with moderate-to-severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and 40 age-, gender-, and BMI-matched controls. Within the OSA group, 40 patients will be obese. > The primary objective is to quantify neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) formation and LL-37 levels in blood samples, comparing these immune parameters between OSA patients and controls, and assessing their changes in OSA patients after three months of CPAP therapy. This robust design aims to provide quantitative data on the immune impact of OSA and the efficacy of CPAP.