<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Recent
research suggested that
obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) might be independently associated with hypoadiponectinemia, which was linked to some
complications of OSAS, such as
hypertension , diabetes, etc. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of
continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP)
treatment on changes of both
serum adiponectin levels and
mean arterial pressure and their possible links in
male OSAS
patients .</p><p><b>
METHODS </b>Twenty-three
adult male patients with moderate-to-severe OSAS but without
obesity ,
coronary heart disease and diabetes were recruited. Their
blood samples were collected and morning
mean arterial pressure (MAP) was measured before CPAP
treatment and on day 3, 7, 14 of CPAP
treatment respectively. The
serum adiponectin concentration was tested with
radioimmunoassay .</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with the
serum adiponectin level before CPAP
treatment , no significant change was found in OSAS
patients on day 3 and day 7 of CPAP
treatment (P > 0.05). It was not until day 14 of CPAP
treatment did a significant elevation in
serum adiponectin level occur (P < 0.01). Meanwhile, the MAP showed no statistically significant difference among its levels before CPAP, on day 3 and day 7 of CPAP
treatment (P > 0.05). However, on day 14 of CPAP
treatment , a significantly lower MAP than that obtained before
treatment was observed (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>CPAP
treatment can gradually reverse hypoadiponectinemia and reduce MAP in OSAS
patients . Hypoadiponectinemia might be involved in the pathogenesis of OSAS-mediated
hypertension .</p>