The sleep study examined the amount of time people spent in slow-wave sleep, also known as non-REM stage 3 or deep sleep, and considered one of the best markers of sleep quality.
The study looked at sleep factors and biomarkers measuring the health of the brain’s white matter, which is important for connecting different parts of the brain.
Having sleep apnea and spending less time in deep sleep is linked to the development of brain biomarkers associated with an increased risk of stroke, Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline, according to new research.
Researchers involved in the study said this does not prove these sleep disturbances cause brain changes or vice versa, but only an association.
They have published their study in the Journal of Neurology. The study looked at sleep factors and biomarkers measuring the health of the brain’s white matter, which is important for connecting different parts of the brain. One of the biomarkers, white matter hyperintensities, are small lesions visible on brain scans. White matter hyperintensities become more common with age or with uncontrolled high blood pressure.
The other biomarker measures the integrity of axons, which form nerve fibers that connect nerve cells. “These biomarkers are sensitive signs of early cerebrovascular disease,” said study author Diego Z. Carvalho, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and a member of the American Academy of Neurology.
“Finding that severe sleep apnea and reductions in slow-wave sleep are associated with these biomarkers is important because there is no cure for these changes in the brain, so we need to find ways to prevent them from happening or getting worse.” ” Carvalho. Researchers studied 140 people with obstructive sleep apnea, with an average age of 73, who underwent brain scans and were also studied overnight in a sleep lab. The participants did not have cognitive issues at the start of the study and did not develop dementia by the end of the study, he said.
A total of 34 percent had mild, 32 percent had moderate and 34 percent had severe sleep apnea. The sleep study examined the amount of time people spent in slow-wave sleep, also known as non-REM stage 3 or deep sleep, and considered one of the best markers of sleep quality. The researchers found that for every 10-point decrease in the percentage of slow-wave sleep, there was an increase in the amount of white matter hyperintensity, similar to an aging effect of 2.3 years.
The same deficit was also associated with decreased axonal integrity, similar to the effect of being three years old. People with severe sleep apnea had higher amounts of white matter hyperintensity than those with mild or moderate sleep apnea. They also had reduced axonal integrity in the brain.
“More research is needed to determine whether sleep issues affect these brain biomarkers or vice versa,” Carvalho said.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)
