The Complex CPAP and Oxygen Therapies and Quality of Life in Alzheimer Patients

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundCPAP, as a method of artificial pulmonary ventilation by constant positive pressure, improves oxygen supply to organs and tissues, including the cells of the cerebral cortex. This effect increases when CPAP and oxygen therapy are combined.MethodWe followed 11 female patients, ages 65 to 75, with Alzheimer’s disease. They were treated for Alzheimer’s disease according to accepted standards. All of them had COVID‐19, and in the rehabilitation program, they were prescribed CPAP therapy in combination with oxygen therapy, which was performed at night when the patients were sleeping, for one month. When they went to bed at a fixed time, a helmet was put on their heads, which allowed them to perform CPAP and oxygen therapy in their sleep. One patient could not get used to sleeping in the helmet, so she was treated differently and was excluded from our study. We also changed the oxygen content of the air in the helmet every three days. The patients themselves also filled out a Quality of Life Rating Scale every two weeks.ResultAfter the sessions, the patients subjectively evaluated their condition as being more rested, stronger, and able and willing to do something. Objectively, there were no improvements in patients' activity during the first two weeks of therapy. Already, after a week of therapy, a fixed bedtime led to better sleep. Also, the best effect was observed when the concentration of oxygen in the supplied air was between 35 and 40 percent. After one month of therapy, patients rated their health as good on the Quality of Life Rating Scale, whereas at the beginning of therapy, they rated their health as poor. After one month of therapy hedonic was evaluated as having joy in life, as opposed to a lack of joy in life, at the beginning of therapy. Also, all the patients themselves associated these changes with the CPAP and oxygen therapy.ConclusionComplex CPAP and oxygen therapy can be recommended as part of a comprehensive therapy for Alzheimer’s disease to improve their quality of life.