Cephas Appiah successfully defended his PhD dissertation
Cephas Appiah successfully defended his PhD Dissertation titled: “Impact of Hormonal
Status on the Effects of Chronic Intermittent Hypoxia in Females.” He completed the
requirements for his PhD in Integrative Physiology under supervision of J. Thomas
Cunningham, PhD and Rebecca Cunningham, PhD.
His project sought to understand early brain changes that occur in sleep apnea in
women and whether ovarian hormones have an impact on brain regions that control blood
pressure and those associated with learning and memory.
His research found that chronic intermittent hypoxia and loss of ovarian hormones
increased blood pressure in females. In addition, CIH and hormone loss increased the
activity of brain regions that are involved in increasing blood pressure in a manner
that was different from what we have previously found in males. This suggests an important
sex difference in the way the brain is affected in the early part of sleep apnea.
The study also revealed that CIH and hormone depletion were associated with inflammation
in brain regions involved in learning and memory.
The research provides essential insights into sleep apnea in women and highlights
the need for further studies into sex-specific treatments.
Now that he has completed his PhD, Appiah has started a new role as a postdoctoral
researcher at Texas A&M University Health.
“I have an incredible opportunity to learn from and collaborate with remarkable minds
in the field. Together, we are on a quest to unravel the complexities of sleep apnea
and its complications, with the hopeful vision of discovering better treatments—and
perhaps even a cure—someday,” Appiah said.
