Benefits of oxytocin administration in obstructive sleep apnea

Abstract

Activation of oxytocin receptors has shown benefits in animal models of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). We tested if nocturnal oxytocin administration could have beneficial effects in OSA patients. Eight patients diagnosed with OSA were administered intranasal oxytocin (40 IU). Changes in cardiorespiratory events during sleep, including apnea and hypopnea durations and frequency, risk of event-associated arousals, and heart rate variability, were assessed. Oxytocin significantly increased indexes of parasympathetic activity, including heart rate variability, total sleep time, and the postpolysommogram sleep assessment score, an index of self-reported sleep satisfaction. Although the apnea-hypopnea index was not significantly changed with oxytocin administration, when apnea and hypopnea events were compared independently, the frequency of hypopneas, but not apneas, was significantly ( ≤ 0.005) decreased with oxytocin treatment. Both apneas and hypopneas were significantly shortened in duration with oxytocin treatment. Oxytocin treatment significantly decreased the percent of apnea and hypopnea events that were accompanied with an arousal. Oxytocin administration has the potential to restore cardiorespiratory homeostasis and reduce some clinically important (objective and patient-reported) adverse events that occur with OSA. Additional studies are needed to further understand the mechanisms by which oxytocin promotes these changes in cardiorespiratory and autonomic function in OSA patients.

Therapeutic Potential of Oxytocin in Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease: Mechanisms and Signaling Pathways

“…Thus, intranasal OT application had been tested in heart rate variability-an index of autonomic cardiac control (Quintana et al, 2013). Although intranasally-applied OT usually does not evoke significant change in plasma OT levels (Leng and Ludwig, 2016), it could exert antiarrhythmic effect in human being as reported (Jain et al, 2017; Sack et al, 2017).…”

Intranasal oxytocin increases heart-rate variability in men at clinical high risk for psychosis: a proof-of-concept study

“…Studies diverge between no impact of intranasal oxytocin on HR 60 – 63 and decreased HR in pregnant women during oxytocin infusions 64 . Studies on HRV have reported intranasal oxytocin-induced increases at rest in healthy subjects 59 , 60 , patients with obstructive sleep apnoea 65 , in pregnant women after oxytocin infusion 64 , decreases during exposure to stress 66 , 67 or no effects at rest in both healthy individuals 63 , 66 and in men with Fragile X syndrome 68 . We have failed to detect any significant effects of a single dose of intranasal (40 IU) or intravenous infusion (10 IU) of oxytocin on HR or HRV in healthy men over an extended period of observation post dosing (14–104 min) 63 .…”

Vasopressin & Oxytocin in Control of the Cardiovascular System: An Updated Review

“…Using optogenetic tools to chronically activate this specific population of OT secreting PVN MCNs they prevented the development of hypertension. In line with this finding, Jain and coworkers [245] reported that intranasal OT administration in patients suffering from OSA reduces the frequency of hypopneas and Fig. (2).…”