New research suggests a common sleep disorder can lead to memory loss. In the study, UCLA scientists discovered people with sleep apnea show tissue loss in brain regions that help store memory.
Reported in the June 27 edition of the journal Neuroscience Letters, the findings emphasize the importance of early detection of the disorder, which afflicts an estimated 20 million Americans.
“Our findings demonstrate that impaired breathing during sleep can lead to a serious brain injury that disrupts memory and thinking,” said principal investigator Ronald Harper, a distinguished professor of neurobiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
Harper hypothesizes that repeated drops in oxygen lead to the brain injury. During an apnea episode, the brain’s blood vessels constrict, starving its tissue of oxygen and causing cellular death. The process also incites inflammation, which further damages the tissue.
clipped from psychcentral.com
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