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A common sleep disorder could cause changes in the brain also in people with Alzheimer's disease, suggested a study.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a relatively common sleep disorder where a person's breathing is interrupted. the walls of their throat relax and shrink.
Symptoms of the disease include loud snoring and noisy, panting, sniffling breathing during sleep. Some also have night sweats, and need to pee frequently during the night. It is feared that the resulting oxygen supply interruptions to the body will reduce the temporal lobes of the brain, which helps to store memories and seems to be affected in people with Alzheimer's disease and Alzheimer's disease. Other forms of dementia. More common in older adults, OSA is already linked to conditions such as cancer, stroke and cardiovascular disease.
Professor Sharon Naismith, author of the study of the School of Psychology at the University of Sydney in Australia, stated : "We found that Reduced blood oxygen during sleep are linked to a reduction in the thickness of the cerebral cortex in the left and right temporal areas: important regions in memory and early lesions in Alzheimer's disease. "
.] Between 30 and 50 percent of dementia risk factors – such Hypertension, obesity and smoking – are preventable, said Naismith, so the researchers wanted to understand where are sleep disorders in this regard? Follow this story and more by registering now
To test their hypothesis, the researchers recruited 83 people aged 51 to 88 who had complained to their doctor about memory problems and
The researchers tested participants' memory abilities and symptoms of depression.
The subjects also visited a sleep clinic. There, the equipment measured the signs of OSA, including their brain activity, oxygen levels in the blood, heart rate, breathing, and movements during sleep. They also underwent brain MRIs to document the thickness of their brains.
Participants with low levels of oxygen in their blood during sleep were found to have finer left and right temporal lobes of the brain. For the first time, scientists have managed to link these changes to a reduced ability to learn new information.
In individuals with signs of OSA, other parts of the brain appeared thicker: indicating that the organ was reacting to the stress of oxygen. Because of this apparent relationship between OSA and poor brain function, screening older adults for OSA and treating the condition as early as possible could therefore be a useful approach to prevent dementia, according to the authors of the study. . Young people with OSA should also be vigilant, said Naismith. "Given the clinical significance of this sample of at-risk older adults, we need to test for sleep-disordered breathing in older adults," Naismith said. ask patients for changes in their memory and other thinking skills and get formal tests in some cases. "
OSA can be treated by using a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device that keeps the airways open during sleep.While we have reference treatments for disordered sleep breathing, we have a real opportunity to prevent cognitive decline caused by OSA before it's too late, "said Naismith.
Next, researchers will examine whether CPAP equipment can be used to prevent cognitive decline in people with mild disabilities
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