S-Adenosylmethionine May Mitigate Obstructive Sleep Apnea in an Adult with Down Syndrome: A Case Report

Silvano Dragonieri,1 Giovanna Elisiana Carpagnano,1 Salvatore Caccamese2 1Department of Respiratory Diseases, University of Bari, Bari, Italy; 2Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, ItalyCorrespondence: Silvano DragonieriDepartment of Respiratory Diseases, University of Bari, Piazza Giulio Cesare 11, Bari, 70124, Italy, Tel +390805591267, Email silvano.dragonieri@uniba.it; Salvatore Caccamese, Email scaccamese@unict.itAbstract: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is common in individuals with Down syndrome (DS). These patients are characterized by reduced levels of S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe) due to a depression of mitochondrial methylation capacity, and its implementation may improve cognitive performance. Based on the above, it is likely a beneficial effect in the treatment with SAMe also on the quality of the sleep. We report the case of an adult male with DS who received benefit of SAMe administration during OSA treatment with CPAP. We observed a significant improvement of apnea/hypopnea index (AHI), which has never been previously reported in Down individuals. AHI dropped from 51.2 to 17.2 from 0 to 49 months.Keywords: S-adenosylmethionine, Down syndrome, sleep apnea, obstructive, oxidative stress, polysomnography