Sleep Apnea in Seniors May By Tied to Alzheimer's

A new study by researchers at the New York University School of Medicine offers more evidence that there may be a link between sleep apnea, or sleep disordered breathing, and Alzheimer's disease.

People with sleep apnea have trouble staying in deep sleep because their throats close as they sleep, temporarily blocking their airways. The body’s natural ‘alarm’ causes them to  subconsciously wake up to get air. Some sleep apnea sufferers may awaken 35 or more times an hour, hundreds of times each night!

According to Bob Chase, Registered Respiratory Therapist and Reliable Respiratory’s Clinical Director with over 50 years of experience, says, “Often sufferers don't know they’ve been partially wakened so much because the disruption isn’t strong enough. So although over 18 million Americans have been diagnosed with sleep apnea, it’s certain that millions more have it but don’t know it. Chances are that someone you know routinely complains they’re always tired, mistakenly thinking they got a healthy7 – 8 hours of sleep.

In the new study, researchers tested the sleep of  people in their 60s, 70s and 80s. They discovered that thinner participants with breathing problems during sleep were more likely to have "biomarkers" -- biological signs -- of an
increased likelihood of developing Alzheimer's. These signs indicate brain
damage and decreased use of glucose (the sugar that blood transports) in the
brain.

Dr. Ricardo S. Osorio, MD, research assistant professor at NYU School of
Medicine who led the recent study, believes the relationship between sleep disordered breathing and Alzheimer’s disease deserves further study. "Sleep apnea skyrockets in the elderly, and this fact hasn't been given the attention it deserves by the sleep world or the Alzheimer's world.  Sleep suffers from an
outmoded perception that it is an inactive physiological process, when, in reality, it is a very active part of the day for the brain. We do not know if these people will develop Alzheimer's in the future, and we don't know how much risk they have. In the future, we might able to predict the risk."

The next step, Dr. Osorio says, is to launch a study of older people with sleep breathing problems and monitor them over time to see if they're less likely to develop Alzheimer's after getting treatment to improve their breathing.

Symptoms of sleep deprivation may be present for years or even decades. Many sufferers become conditioned to daytime sleepiness, fatigue and slow loss of short-term memory.  Long-term sleep deprivation can result in increased highway and work accidents, obesity, risk of diabetes and heart problems, risk for depression and psychiatric conditions, and reduced ability to concentrate.

If you or your doctor suspect that your fatigue may be due to sleep apnea, you should have a sleep study -- which today can be done in the comfort of your own home rather than a sleep lab. And when your doctor prescribes a CPAP device, please think of Reliable Respiratory! Reliable can provide the latest equipment and veteran professional staff and handles insurance paperwork.

Stan Hurwitz  / stanhurwitz@gmil.com