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Angelika Okegwo

Publications and source records attributed to Angelika Okegwo.

2 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Treatment for obstructive sleep apnoea: effect on peripheral nerve function.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is suggested to be associated with peripheral nerve damage. A case-control study was conducted to provide further support to this observation. In a longitudinal intervention study, it was examined whether treatment for OSA has a possible beneficial effect on peripheral nerve function. METHODS: Participants were 23 patients with OSA and 23 controls matched for age and body mass index (BMI), all without any known cause of peripheral nerve damage. The sensory nerve action potential (SNAP) amplitudes of both sural nerves were determined. After 6 months of treatment for OSA, treatment compliance was evaluated and nerve conduction studies were repeated. RESULTS: Patients with OSA had significantly lower mean (standard deviation) sural SNAP amplitudes than controls (6.3 (3.5) v 11.2 (5.0), p < 0.001). Multivariate regression analysis including the variables age, BMI and Apnoea-Hypopnea Index (AHI) showed that both age (p < 0.01) and AHI (p < 0.05) were inversely related to the SNAP amplitude. On follow-up, the sural SNAP showed an increase of 2.6 mV on average (p < 0.001). Multivariate regression analysis including the variables age, BMI, AHI, pretreatment SNAP and treatment compliance identified only treatment compliance as being significantly related to the SNAP increase (p < or = 0.005). CONCLUSION: OSA is an independent risk factor for axonal dysfunction of peripheral sensory nerves. Impaired neural function is at least partly reversible with treatment for sleep apnoea.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed2003

Painless legs and moving toes in a mother and her daughter.

Painful legs and moving toes (PLMT) is a rare syndrome which is characterised by involuntary movements of the toes and pain in the legs. We report on a mother and her daughter who both presented with involuntary movements of the toes similar to those seen in PLMT but without any associated pain. Neurological examination revealed intermittent 0.3 to 0.5-Hz flexion and extension of the toes and ankles of the right foot in the mother, and of both feet in the daughter. In both patients, the movements appeared during periods of rest that were uncorrelated with the time of day. Diagnostic work-up gave no evidence of radiculopathy or of focal neuropathy. Overnight polysomnography documented that movements of the toes and feet occurred only before sleep onset and during periods of nocturnal awakening or arousals. Because the movements observed in our patients were similar to those seen in patients with PLMT, we diagnosed an abortive form of this syndrome, which already has got the naming "painless legs and moving toes." The occurrence in a mother and her daughter may point to a hereditary component of this disorder.

Adult↗