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Re: Yes. And Yes.

Posted by AmyM on December 07, 2001 at 20:26:54:

In Reply to: Yes. And Yes. posted by GBoogie on December 07, 2001 at 04:21:38:


On an earlier forum I posted some neurological speculations about this (maybe two forums back, run the search for hippocampus). A recent study has shown that there are changes in deep white matter of the brain for OSA patients; the more severe the case of OSA, the more likely there are changes.

My theory is that the hippocampus is affected by OSA. The hippocampus is the part of the brain responsible for forming short term memories in learning and for overall executive functioning. Alzheimer's patients have damage in the hippocampus. Apparently stress also affects the hippocampus which is why people under extreme stress experience temporary cognitive impairment. Of course, this is only speculative,and it cannot be proven unless an apnea patient has an MRI from the time before the apnea that could be compared with a post-apnea MRI. As I've had documented damage to my short term memory (shown in neuropsychiatric testing), I've been trying to find out what I can. I've read several abstracts that seem to indicate that in older patients, or patients with OSA on the severe end of the spectrum, CPAP use does not seem to reverse the memory problem, though other problems (mood, personality, energy level) are positively impacted. However, it is possible that through exercising the brain and being proactive in following through with cpap treatment and good sleep hygeine, the dementia could be reversed. Anyway, I hope so! And I am also interested in finding a way for sleep apnea patients experiencing dementia to get the proper diagnosis and treatment, as well as support and understanding in the workplace.

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