ReviewSleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung2026
Obstructive sleep apnea and seizures: pathophysiological mechanisms and clinical implications: a narrative review.
Review in Sleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeObstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common sleep disorder characterized by recurrent upper airway obstructions leading to sleep fragmentation and intermittent hypoxia. This review aims to explore the complex relationship between OSA and seizures, focusing on potential molecular mechanisms and the need for better understanding to improve clinical management.
methodsA narrative literature review was conducted by searching PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science using keywords such as “obstructive sleep apnea,” “seizures,” “epilepsy,” “molecular mechanisms,” and “hypoxia.” Articles from database inception to December 31, 2025 were considered, with emphasis on studies from the past five years. Inclusion criteria included English-language peer-reviewed articles relevant to the topic; exclusion criteria encompassed duplicates, non-relevant studies, and low-quality reports. No formal quality assessment tool was used, as this is a narrative review, but sources were selected based on methodological rigor and journal reputation to ensure reproducibility and transparency.
resultsEvidence indicates that OSA exacerbates seizures through mechanisms such as sleep deprivation, chronic intermittent hypoxia, neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, and alterations in molecular markers like HMGB1, microRNAs, and melatonin. Recent studies highlight neuroinflammatory pathways and intermittent hypoxia as key links, with OSA treatment potentially reducing seizure frequency. Prevalence of OSA in patients with epilepsy ranges from 30 to 33%, higher in drug-resistant cases.
conclusionsOSA significantly influences seizure occurrence via multifaceted molecular pathways. Further research on these mechanisms is essential for developing targeted therapies, emphasizing the importance of screening for OSA in epilepsy patients.
Indexed as
Identifiers
41762315What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.