Relationship between serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor and cognitive impairment in children with sleep-disordered breathing

Abstract

BackgroundAs an important neuroprotective factor, the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) may have a key role in cognitive impairment in children with sleep-disordered breathing (SDB). The main aim of this study was to compare the levels of BDNF and tyrosine kinase receptor B (TrkB) in normal children and those with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and primary snoring (PS) and to explore a possible link between BDNF/TrkB, inflammation, and SDB with cognitive impairment in children.MethodsA total of 44 OSA children and 35 PS children who completed polysomnography between October 2017 and October 2019 were enrolled. At the same time, 40 healthy children during the same period were included as a control. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to measure serum indices of BDNF, TrkB, interleukin-1beta (IL-1β), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). Correlation and pooled analyses were performed between the cognitive scores and four serological indicators. Logistic regression was used to analyze the risk factors for cognitive impairment.ResultsSignificant differences were found in serum BDNF, TrkB, IL-1β, and TNF-α between the three groups (all P < 0.01). The serum BDNF and TrkB in the OSA and PS groups were lower than those in the control group, whereas the serum IL-1β and TNF-α were higher than those in the control group (all P < 0.05). Moreover, among these four indices, the strongest correlation was found between BDNF and the Chinese Wechsler Intelligence Scale (all P < 0.05). Logistic regression analysis revealed a correlation between OSA status, TrkB, and course of mouth breathing and cognitive status.ConclusionThe levels of serum BDNF and TrkB were related to cognitive impairment in children with SDB. Also, BDNF and TrkB could be used as noninvasive and objective candidate markers and predictive indices of cognitive impairment in children with SDB.

Association of Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha, Interleukin-1β, Interleukin-8, and Interferon-γ with Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Both Children and Adults: A Meta-Analysis of 102 Articles

“…Out of all articles included in the meta-analysis, eighty-five articles were reported that dealt with adults [8,16,21,[31][32][33] while seventeen considered children [12,13,34,35,[121][122][123][124][125][126][127][128][129][130][131][132][133]. The studies are from various countries, including Egypt, China, Iran, USA, Saudi Arabia, Greece, Spain, India, Turkey, Brazil, Italy, Poland, Hungary, and France.…”

“…These meta-analyses were conducted on OSA [ 24 , 25 , 26 ], interleukin (IL-8 in adults [ 27 ], IL-8 and IL-1β in both children and adults [ 28 ], TNF-α and IL-8 in adults [ 29 ], IL-8 in both children and adults [ 30 ], and TNF-α in both children and adults [ 20 ] in comparison to control groups. The outcomes of these meta-analyses varied, as did the results reported in the original articles [ 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 ]. The conflicting results in these meta-analyses could be due to several factors such as differences in study populations (age, ethnicity, and health status), variations in the methodologies used in the studies (measurement techniques and statistical analyses), and the inherent biological variability in cytokine levels.…”