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A study to be published in the journal Neurology reveals that people with sleep apnea are more likely to be affected by brain damage characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease.
Previous studies have already shown that sleep apnea increases the risk of dementia. This new study investigated the link between sleep apnea and human brain volume. She concluded that people whose brains had amyloid plaques (an early symptom of Alzheimer’s disease) and who suffered from severe sleep apnea were more likely to have lower brain volume in the temporal lobe region. midbrain.
The medial temporal lobe is a region of the brain that consists of the hippocampus, the amygdala, and a small cortical region called the rhinal cortex. It plays a crucial role in memory mechanisms and in the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
The study authors point out that this link was not found in people whose brains did not show amyloid plaques, even if they suffered from severe sleep apnea. The formation of amyloid plaques would therefore be decisive in this discovery.
A loss of cells in the brain
This work was carried out on 122 people aged 69 on average and not suffering from memory problems. Of the participants, 26 had amyloid plaques in their brains. Study participants received brain scans, memory tests and were monitored while they slept.
After analyzing the various data collected, the researchers found that people with amyloid plaques and suffering from severe sleep apnea had a lower brain volume in the medial temporal lobe. This finding suggests that a loss of nerve cells may have occurred in this region of the brain. In contrast, no nerve cell loss was seen in the brains of people who did not have amyloid plaque.
Treat sleep apnea to delay neurodegenerative processes?
“Our results show that some people are more vulnerable than others to the effects of sleep apnea.” said Géraldine Rauchs, co-author and researcher at Inserm. “People who have Alzheimer’s disease at an early stage will be more affected by sleep apnea. Further studies need to be conducted to see if treating this sleep disorder can potentially improve cognitive function and prevent or delay neurodegenerative processes.”she added.