ISLAMABAD, DEC 26 (ONLINE): About 936 million adults around the world have sleep apnea.
\nPast studies show that sleep apnea can increase a person\u2019s risk for several conditions, including neurological diseases such as Alzheimer\u2019s disease.
\nResearchers from the University of Miami have found that people with sleep apnea may have an enlarged hippocampus, which is the area of the brain responsible for memory and learning.
\nScientists also report that people with lower oxygen levels as they sleep experienced alterations to the white matter of the brain, which is traditionally linked to brain issues as we age.
\nResearchers estimate that about 936 million adults globally have sleep apnea \u2014 a condition where a person stops breathing when asleep, disrupting their rest.<\/p>\n
Past studies show that sleep apnea can increase a person\u2019s risk for several conditions, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and neurological diseases including Alzheimer\u2019s disease and other types of dementiaTrusted Source.<\/p>\n
\u201cSleep apnea [is] still an under-recognized and undertreated sleep disorder that can affect brain and cardiovascular health,\u201d Alberto R. Ramos, MD, MS, FAAN, FAASM, professor of clinical neurology and research director of the Sleep Medicine Program in the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami, fellow of the American Academy of Neurology told Medical News Today.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf importance, if sleep apnea affects the brain health and increases the risk for dementias, then treatment of it can serve as a strategy to improve brain health and prevent these disorders, which are on the rise,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n
Ramos is the lead author of a new study of older adults of Latin descent that found people with sleep apnea may have an enlarged hippocampus, which is the area of the brain responsible for memory and learning.<\/p>\n
Additionally, researchers report that people with lower oxygen levels as they sleep experienced alterations to the white matter of the brain. Although white matter normally decreases as we age, those changes may influence the progression of different brain disorders, including Alzheimer\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n
The study was recently published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.<\/p>\n
Why study sleep apnea and brain health in Latino populations?
\nFor this study, researchers recruited about 2,600 Latino people with an average age of 68.<\/p>\n
\u201cLatinos have an increased risk of Alzheimer\u2019s disease compared to other ethnic groups, not fully explained by the known risk factors,\u201d Ramos told us.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey also have increased prevalence of sleep apnea, hence evaluating markers of brain health such as the one mentioned serve as a way to understand early markers of disease risk for Alzheimer\u2019s disease and overall brain health in this population that seems to have a large burden of disease,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
At the start of the study, all participants were given a sleep test to take home that measured how many apneas \u2014 or breathing stops \u2014 they had while they slept.<\/p>\n
The test also measured incidents of hypopneas, or shallow breathing, during sleep, and researchers also measured the amount of oxygen in their blood.<\/p>\n
Following the sleep test, participants were divided into three groups:<\/p>\n
those who had fewer than five sleep disruptions per hour or no sleeping issues
\nthose with five to 15 disruptions and mild sleeping problems
\nand those with more than 15 disruptions and moderate to severe sleeping difficulties.
\nSleep issues linked to increased brain volume
\nResearchers then followed up with study participants after 10 years. All participants received brain scans to measure their brain volume and any areas where their white matter may have been damaged.<\/p>\n
Upon analysis, Ramos and his team found that participants with the most sleeping issues had 0.24 cubic centimeters (cm3) greater brain volume in the hippocampus, compared to those with no sleeping problems.<\/p>\n
Researchers also discovered that for every additional sleep disruption, there was a 0.006 cm3 brain volume increase in the hippocampus.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe think, in this specific case of sleep apnea, that increased size means increased swelling, because of inflammation or overall damage,\u201d Ramos explained.<\/p>\n
Lower sleep oxygen levels linked to more white matter damage
\nWhen examining blood oxygen levels, scientists found that lower oxygen levels during sleep was correlated with both higher hippocampal volume and white matter hyperintensitiesTrusted Source, or areas of brain damage.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe think that [the increase] in white matter [hyperintensities] tells us that there is vascular brain disease in people with sleep apnea, and this is in part explained by the low oxygen levels that you see in this disease \u2014 more so in some cases than others,\u201d Ramos said. \u201cThese findings, while still need to be replicated, can lead to treatment studies and targets for interventions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDementias still don\u2019t have a cure and many of the brain changes that lead to dementia start decades before clinical symptoms develop,\u201d he continued. \u201cHence our study allows us to determine the role sleep apnea may play in the process that leads to dementia and what are some of this early markers and pathways (i.e. vascular brain diseaseTrusted Source).\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe diagnosis of sleep apnea, and hopefully the treatment of it \u2014 we still need treatment studies to confirm this \u2014 should be part of the overall strategy to maintain proper brain health,\u201d Ramos added.<\/p>\n
Can treating sleeping problems reduce dementia symptoms?
\nMNT spoke with David Merrill, MD, PhD, a board certified geriatric psychiatrist at Providence Saint John\u2019s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA, and Singleton Endowed Chair in Integrative Brain Health, about this study.<\/p>\n
\u201cSleep is a factor that can either be protective or risky for cognitive health,\u201d Merrill, who was not involved in this research, explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe effects of sleep on cognitive health depend on the attributes of an individual\u2019s sleep, including the quality, quantity, frequency, and even the regularity of sleep. With high-quality, restorative sleep, the brain\u2019s function is enhanced and protected as we age. If sleep is chronically disrupted, this can lead to a number of health issues including headaches, fatigue, and memory loss that worsens over time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 David Merrill, MD, PhD<\/p>\n
\u201cThe disrupted, poor-quality sleep seen in sleep disorders leads to both acute and chronically worsening changes in the brain,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cNormally, a good night\u2019s sleep literally allows for repair and restoration of brain function to the levels seen at the beginning of the prior day. We now know through research that the brain has a specialized cleaning system, called the glymphatic system, that is most active during the deepest stages of sleep. Similar in function to the lymphatic system found in the rest of our body, the glymphatic system drains away waste products produced during normal daily metabolism,\u201d said Merrill.<\/p>\n
According to him, \u201cdementia continues to be a disorder without a cure, and the available drug therapies are marginally effective at treating [its] symptoms, so it\u2019s crucial to use all available strategies to treat sleep symptoms to alleviate dementia symptoms.\u201c<\/p>\n
\u201cThat includes all the intuitive, but often difficult to achieve, elements of sleep hygiene,\u201d\u00a0he\u00a0noted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD, DEC 26 (ONLINE): About 936 million adults around the world have sleep apnea. Past studies show that sleep apnea can increase a person\u2019s risk for several conditions, including neurological diseases such as Alzheimer\u2019s disease. Researchers from the University of Miami have found that people […]<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":117544,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9821],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-117543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-health-news"],"yoast_head":"\n