Disordered Breathing During Sleep in Active Acromegalic Patients

Abstract

Polysomnography was performed in four patients with active acromegaly who had not undergone medical treatment. Two patients with relatively high HGH level (70.27ng/ml, 113.16ng/ml) and one obese patient with a relatively low HGH level (14.13ng/ml) exhibited sleep apnea and oxygen desaturation. The non-obese patient with a relatively low HGH level (15.99ng/ml) was free from apnea episodes. Both central and obstrutive apneas were seen in three patients. The patient with central apnea had congestive heart failure. The magnitude of desaturation was mild in two patients with no obesity. The obese patient demonstrated the most severe desaturation among the three. Ventilatory responses to O₂ and CO₂ did not reveal any relationship with sleep apnea and desaturation. We speculated that the high HGH level and development of obesity and complication of congestive heart failure maylead to sleep apnea in active acromegalic patients.