Study on the effect of aging on sleep apnea syndrome in rats / 中华老年医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the effect of aging on the sleep apneas syndrome in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats.Methods 18 male SD rats in a SPF grade were divided into three groupsyoung (3-month-old rats,n=6),middle-aged(12-14-month-old rats,n=6) and old group (18-20-month-old rats,n=6).The rats were implanted with EEG and ECG electrodes and underwent sleep monitoring.Results During non-rapid eye movement (NREM),the spontaneous apnea index (SPAI) in young,middle-aged and old groups were increased with aging [0.41 (0.00-1.14)times/h,0.76(0.00-6.28)times/h,2.13(1.44-3.87)times/h respectively,(x2=8.801,P=0.012)].There were significant differences in the average time of post sigh apnea in NREM between the three groups [(3.51±0.18)sec vs.(3.84±0.57)sec vs.(4.36±0.57) sec,F=4.729,P=0.026].SPAI in NREM and the average time of post-sigh apnea in rapid eye movement (REM) as well as NREM showed an increase trend with aging,but there was no significant difference between groups (both P ＞0.05).Conclusions The apnea index,total time of sleep apneas and the average time of postsigh apnea are increased with aging,which is similar to that in human.