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Yes. And Yes.

Posted by GBoogie on December 07, 2001 at 04:21:38:

In Reply to: Apnea and dementia. posted by Peter Johnson on December 07, 2001 at 00:24:31:

Peter:

This may seem a little nit-picky, but people who have those "symptoms that seem similar to dementia" do, in fact, have dementia. However, we usually think of dementia as a permanent and hopeless conditon. Please note that there is a category of 'reversible dementias'. So, perhaps you really meant to ask:

"Is Sleep Apnea a Cause of Reversible Dementia in Old Age?" (or any age?)

I think it is. I think sleep disorders are the largest cause of reversible dementia. Sadly, many cases go undiagnosed or improperly treated.

If I won the lottery, I would fund a medical study. Randomly selected dementia patients would be given sleep tests. Sleep disorders would be properly treated. We would know the percentage of people that are needlessly having the quality of their lives destroyed by dementia.

There are peer-reviewed medical journal articles that discuss this topic. If you have the inclination to visit a really good library, may I suggest you start with the following article:
"Is Sleep Apnea a Cause of Reversible Dementia in Old Age?" by Donald L. Bliwise, PhD which appeared in the November 1996 edition (Volume 44, No. 11) of the Journal of the American Geriatric Society (JAGS) on pages 1407-1409. The article is valuable not just for the discussion in the article, but the footnotes will lead you very quickly to many other important articles on the subject.

To answer your questions.
Yes, there are epidemiological studies that show a strong correlation between severe OSA and dementia.
Yes, there are case studies in the medical literature of patients suffering from dementia being cured by proper treatment of their OSA and other sleep problems.


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  • Sleep Deprivation due to Sleep Apnea and insufficient sleep are common and can present as insomnia, narcolepsy, or idiopathic hypersomnia. In infants and children sleep problems commonly present themselves as ADD or ADHD.


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