Study record
Mitochondrial dysfunction is associated with cognitive impairment in adults with OSA without dementia
Li M, Shen T, Yao R et al. · Sleep Med · 2024
Human obs.Endogenous MOTS-c measuredEvidence tier B
What this study reported
Measured higher neuron-derived exosomal MOTS-c in adults with obstructive sleep apnea and mild cognitive impairment than in adults with OSA alone or controls, and reported that exosomal MOTS-c mediated part of the association between nocturnal oxygenation measures and cognitive scores. In 22 patients reassessed after a year of CPAP, levels were lower than at baseline.
Limitations
Mainly cross-sectional with a small, uncontrolled CPAP follow-up subgroup; reported mediation proportions above 100% indicate unstable estimates; single-centre sample.
Study record
| Study model | Human observational |
|---|---|
| Substance studied | Endogenous MOTS-c measuredNaturally occurring MOTS-c was measured; nothing was given. |
| Species | human |
| System studied | Neuron-derived exosomal MOTS-c, humanin and neurogranin in adults with obstructive sleep apnea with and without mild cognitive impairment |
| Population | adults with obstructive sleep apnea with or without mild cognitive impairment, adults with mild cognitive impairment without OSA, and cognitively normal controls |
| Design | Cross-sectional study with a small uncontrolled follow-up subgroup |
| Sample size as reported | 268 participants (91 OSA with MCI, 89 OSA without MCI, 38 MCI without OSA, 50 controls); 22 followed after CPAP |
| Control group | cognitively normal participants without obstructive sleep apnea |
| Route (data field only) | Not reported |
| Endpoints measured | exosomal MOTS-c; exosomal humanin; neurogranin; MoCA score; polysomnography oxygenation measures |
| Pathways measured | Not reported |
| Research areas | Nervous system · Mitochondrial biology |
| Evidence tier | B — Other human study |
| Publication types | Journal Article |
Appraisal
Each dimension is recorded separately and never combined into a single score. A study can be well controlled and still tell you little about people.
- Relevance to MOTS-c
- Direct
- Model applicability
- Human
- Sample size
- Adequate
- Controls
- Appropriate
- Outcome validity
- Surrogate
- Support for its own conclusion
- Moderate
Provenance
- Bibliographic fields retrieved from PubMed E-utilities efetch (title, journal, date, authors, DOI) on 2026-11-11.
- Annotated from the published abstract.
- Editorial review: approved (2026-11-11).
- Classification follows the site methodology; the record describes the study, not what MOTS-c does in people.