Down syndrome and Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)

[NathansDad]

Nathan was previously tested for OSA, he was borderline (0.9 with 1 being cutoff for OSA). This time he was was FINALLY diagnosed with OSA. He goes in for another sleep test this week for with a CPAP. Hopefully, this will help out his general mood (morning-crankiness and afternoon and evening tiredness) and improve his attentiveness and ability to learn more effectively.

Here are some excerpts and HERE is the entire story.

People who have obstructive sleep apnea experience breathing difficulty in their sleep, which can disrupt rest. The condition can easily go unnoticed in those with Down syndrome because many symptoms of the two conditions overlap including cardiovascular disease, daytime sleepiness and impaired cognitive functioning.

“Patients with Down syndrome have a great deal of risk factors for OSA (based on their narrow mid-face, large tongue, floppy muscle tone, tendency towards being overweight and thyroid disease),” said Carole Marcus, an author of the study and a professor of pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania. “However, the fact that almost all of the subjects studied had OSA was a much higher prevalence than we expected. It was surprising how severe the illness was and how the OSA was unsuspected by their caregivers.”
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Our children are quite simply beautiful!
Troy McCarthy

[Ben'sMom]

I was just thinking about you guys and this. Has Nathan ever had tonsils and (partial) adenoids out? When we saw Dr. Sally Shott at the NDSC convention in Kansas, she spoke about how to treat, and this is usually the first step. I know it helped Ben sleep much better. I am still considering a sleep study for Ben as he is still very active in his sleep and sleeps in unusual positions (sitting up or folded over). It did help for a few years, though. I thought I gave my notes from that day to you and Michelle to share with HADSA. I'll see if I can find where they went to.
Dr. Shott is one of the best in the country on this.
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Cynthia Anderson
Mom to Ben, 8 and Katherine, 4