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Objective: It has been suggested that choroid plexus calcifications (CPC) may be associated with glymphatic system dysfunction and with disturbed slow-wave (N3) sleep. If this is the case, volumetric analysis of CPC could be used to estimate the functional ability of the glymphatic system. However, data on this association is limited. This study aims to assess the association between percentages of N3 sleep - used as a putative marker of glymphatic system activity - and the volume of CPC in older adults., Patients and Methods: Community-dwelling individuals aged ≥60 years enrolled in the Atahualpa Project Cohort received head CTs (for automated determinations of CPC volume) and a single-night polysomnography (PSG) for quantification of N3 sleep percentages. Multivariate linear regression and non-parametric models were fitted to assess the association between these variables., Results: A total of 125 older adults (median age: 65 years; 32 % males) were included. The mean percentage of N3 sleep was 12.4±9.1 %, and the mean volume of CPC was 655±345.3 µL. Non-parametric locally weighted scatterplot smoothing showed that the volume of CPC increased as the percentage of N3 sleep increased, but only when N3 sleep is reduced (up to 12 % of total sleep time). The significance disappeared when PSG parameters were included in the model as well as in participants with normal N3 sleep percentages., Conclusions: Study results suggest that in the presence of severe reductions in N3 sleep, increased CPC volume may be a manifestation of choroid plexus compensation or adaptation, and not necessarily dysfunction., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare they have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: In view of the high prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and the increasing global pandemic of SARS-CoV-2 infection, it is likely that many patients with OSA get exposed to this virus. Besides theoretical assumptions, there is no evidence that OSA may favor SARS-CoV-2 acquisition or may lead to a more severe disease. Taking the opportunity of the Atahualpa Project cohort, we aimed to assess the relationship between previously diagnosed OSA and SARS-CoV-2 infection in older adults living in rural Ecuador., Patients and Methods: SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were determined in 180 individuals aged > 60 years that underwent polysomnography previously to this novel pandemic. Those with OSA remained untreated due to income limitations. Exposure-effect models were fitted with OSA as the exposure, SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity and symptomatology as the outcomes, and confounders - age, gender, obesity, arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterolemia, individuals per house, home confinement - as independent variables., Results: A total of 87 (48%) individuals were seropositive to SARS-CoV-2, 77% of whom were symptomatic. The mean apnea/hypopnea index was 11.1 ± 11.7 episodes per hour, with 83 (46%) individuals having mild, and 38 (21%) moderate-to-severe OSA. Exposure-effect models demonstrated lack of relationship between OSA and SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity and symptomatology., Conclusions: This study shows no relationship between history of OSA and SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity or symptomatology, opposing previous suggestions that persons with OSA are more prone to acquire the infection and have a more severe disease., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Perivascular spaces (PVS) are involved in mechanisms of brain interstitial fluid and metabolic waste clearance. Since most of this clearance occurs during sleep, it is plausible that sleep-related disorders favor PVS dilatation. Knowledge on the association between enlarged basal ganglia (BG) PVS and sleep disorders is limited. Here, we aimed to assess the association between sleep parameters and enlarged BG-PVS in older adults., Patients and Methods: Atahualpa residents aged ≥60 years were interviewed with the Pittsburgh sleep quality index and underwent MRI for identification of enlarged BG-PVS and other neuroimaging signatures of cerebral small vessel disease. Then, a representative random sample of the study population underwent a single-night polysomnography (PSG). Using logistic regression models, we evaluated whether sleep quality, sleep efficiency and the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) associate with enlarged BG-PVS, after adjusting for demographics, cardiovascular risk factors, neuroimaging signatures of cerebral small vessel disease and other relevant confounders., Results: The association between sleep quality and enlarged BG-PVS, assessed in 338 individuals, was significant in the univariate model, but the significance was taken away by the effect of confounders. The association between PSG parameters and enlarged BG-PVS was assessed in a random sample of 97 individuals. Logistic regression models showed a significant association between poor sleep efficiency and enlarged BG-PVS (p = 0.045). In contrast, there was no association between the AHI and BG-PVS., Conclusion: Poor sleep efficiency is independently associated with enlarged BG-PVS, suggesting that sleep may influence structural changes in these fluid-filled cavities., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)