A new study suggests that restricted blood flow to the brain during sleep apnea may lead to Brain damage. According to the study, over 10% of adults are suffering from obstructive sleep apnea whose primary symptoms are snoring and periodic episodes of breath holding during sleep. A patient suffering from this condition may create snorting or gasping noises, or experience extended periods of interrupted or difficult breathing while they sleep. Researchers are saying that the blood oxygen levels show a significant drop each time breathing stops and this can cause some extent of damage to the cells in the person's body.
Experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that if the patient has an underlying medical problems such as names of obstruction or congestive heart failure, sleep apnea may be resolved once these problems have been treated. At the moment, one of the major techniques that is being used to manage sleep apnea in patients is the use of gentle air pressure delivery through a device called Continuous Positive Airway Pressure, or CPAP.
Lead researcher Paul Macey from the University of California - Los Angeles explains that sleep apnea, when left untreated, can lead to conditions such as depression, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart failure, stroke, and other health problems. The team measured oxygenated blood flow in the brain in sleep apnea patients using an MRI procedure that doctors typically use to measure brain activity. The Global Blood Volume and Oxygen Dependent (BOLD) signal was used to observe blood flow in two groups of subjects, one group with categorical obstructive sleep apnea and the other without. Macey explained about the use the BOLD method to observe changes in the amounts of oxygenated blood that is being supplied to the brain during an episode of sleep apnea. "We know there is injury to the brain from sleep apnea and we also know that the heart has problems pumping blood to the body, and potentially also to the brain," he said.
Their findings showed that sleep apnea resulting to the reduction of blood flow to the brain. The condition is also more prominent in females that in males, which led researchers to speculate that it could be contributing to the sex- specific trait of brain injury.