Sleep apnea can cause serious brain injury

[roster]

Source: http://origin.whittierdailynews.com/news/ci_9546082

Sleep apnea can cause serious brain injury
By Susan Abram, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 06/10/2008 09:40:27 PM PDT

The disease can swallow parts of your brain until it seems day and night become one, until whole thoughts vanish and dreams blur with reality.

It stole what Jim Reynolds used to be: a genius with an IQ of 168 who could compute complicated mathematical problems as efficiently as a calculator.

"It took me from a superfunctioning human being to a blob," said the 66-year-old Northridge man, a race car driver and pilot who also was a consultant for the original Laserium at Griffith Park Observatory.

But because of sleep apnea, or interrupted breathing during sleep, the former business owner - who used to work 14-hour days, make split-second decisions and lead a fast-paced lifestyle - simply shut down. So did his company.

"Time passes," he said. "Your life passes, and you can't do anything."

Now, UCLA researchers have found that sleep apnea can lead to serious brain injury that disrupts memory and thinking. If not treated quickly, it could have a lasting impact, said principal investigator Ronald Harper, a neurobiology professor at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine.

In a study, Harper and his team focused on the mammillary bodies, formations shaped like tiny breasts at the base of the brain. Through a complicated, manual-imaging process, researchers discovered that the mammillary bodies of those with sleep apnea were 20percent smaller than those of people free of the disorder.

The findings are similar to those in patients suffering memory loss from alcoholism and Alzheimer's disease.

"We were astonished with the findings," Harper said. "We had a hard time believing the data that we saw, but at the same time it's so convincing because so many of the patients with apnea had this."

More than 40 people with the disorder were tested, Harper said. All suffered from some form of memory loss.

"For those with the condition, it's like that movie `50 First Dates,' where it seems like you meet a new boyfriend every night," Harper said. "You could be told a joke every few minutes and always think it's funny."

Sleep apnea affects 20million Americans, mainly men and increasingly those considered obese. In many, health experts believe the condition is not diagnosed for years, as in Reynolds' case, if ever.

There are three types of sleep apnea. In general, breathing is interrupted, sometimes hundreds of times during the night and often for a minute or longer. The results include loud bursts of snoring and chronic daytime fatigue.

Some studies have linked the disorder to a higher risk of stroke, heart disease and diabetes, according to health researchers.

Lack of sleep has become an epidemic in the United States. A recent federal study found that about 30percent of Americans are getting less than six hours of sleep a night. An estimated 50million to 70million people suffer from sleep disorders or repeated sleep loss.

Reynolds, who was not overweight when he began suffering from the disorder, said his sleep used to be interrupted 44 times an hour. He gained weight, his blood pressure rose, and he became so depressed that for two years his utility bills went unpaid, which meant he sat in darkness inside his home.

To relieve his symptoms, Reynolds uses a continuous positive airway pressure machine. The CPAP mask opens the passageway in his throat to help him breath. The machine also records his sleep pattern so he can see how many times he wakes up per hour.

He takes long walks to decrease his depression, and he continues working on his inventions, including an anti-hijacking device that could be placed in airplanes and a "man overboard" device that could make anyone who's lost at sea easier to detect.

He has started a regimen of Vitamin B-1, used by physicians to treat memory loss in alcoholics. Harper said he and his team are exploring whether B-1 can help restore memory of sleep-apnea patients.

Reynolds hopes speaking about his condition will lead others to be diagnosed.

"What makes this sad is that my sense of identity is my ability to think," he said. "For me, not being able to think was real tragic."

susan.abram@dailynews.com

(818) 713-3664
Prin

[mindy]

Wow - although we don't need more reasons to stick with cpap therapy, this is a very important one. I've been feeling for quite a while like my brain just wasn't firing on all cylinders anymore. I just attributed it to age but now I can't help wondering.

Thanks for sharing that, Rooster!

Mindy

[CMF]

That explains a whole lot of things

Charles

[Guest]

I just heard this on the 5:00 o'clock news, did anyone else see it?

SleepyNoMore

[jaxdaddy]

I agree with mindy. Just thought my tendency to be a little scatter-brained was just due to age...something to think about.

[danmc]

Brain damage was my first concern when I was told about my oxygen lows. I did some research and my take on it is that;

1. Some researchers think brain damage in the areas that control breathing may be a precursor to apnea rather than the reverse, but this was a very limited study - I will try to find it again and post here. I discounted this information as it is not relevant to my concern that I had suffered some damage that I could have prevented. Also, I decided that being upset about a "could have prevented" was pointless. Today and what I have in the brain room today and tomorrow is important, yesterday only helps me understand and prepare for today and tomorrow. Therefore I am less concerned about what has happened than what might. I have been lucky enough to discover cpap. Its all good.

2. On the general topic of brain damage, my guess is that the term is used by researchers in a broader sense than the public. In other words, I suspect that were researchers to scan every brain on the planet there would be some indications of damage in many, in some cases very mild and indicating general wear and tear of living. How much do we panic about the term then?

3. I found that brain damage occurs from stroke, mini strokes etc which may be more prevalent in apnea sufferers. I do know someone who is reputed to have suffered a stroke overnight (third hand information I'm afraid, I have not asked him directly) and was a non compliant apnea sufferer. He has slurred and slow speech. So definitely something for me to think about.

4. Brain damage is hard to quantify. I was part of gifted and talented programs at school. But now who knows. At school I could read a book and recall every page, the illustrations and the text almost word for word as if the book were in front of me. Now I can't. Why though? maybe I just recall that ability in a golden light, perhaps I just had more time to reflect and concentrate as a kid. Maybe the books were easier. maybe I suffered some loss but is it gone for good?

5. It has been noted that very minor injuries in some people cause massive loss of function however extreme trauma in others can be almost undetectable from a functional point of view. One case I read, unconfirmed perhaps since it was on the net and I am working from my memory - touted a 40% or so loss in mass from a vehicle injury or similar and supposedly showed no signs of functional loss or very little. I found this hard to believe personally. I take it though that there are many unknowns.

6. It is generally accepted that brains do not repair themselves and that brain damage is permanent, but I thought this perception was changing. There is certainly always hope.

More questions than answers I feel. So worth considering but not worth getting upset over as the jury is still out.

What I did wonder was whether I should start monitoring and testing my own function to see if it improved. I have started a project for this purpose. I am gathering simple tests that I can do regularly to see how function changes in (hopefully) some quantifiable way. If anyone would like to help or play along feel free to join me.

[Claire]

This is an interesting thread, and I'd like to contribute. I'm 62 and have noticed that I lose words...the tired I am, the worse it gets. This has been going on for 10 years, during which time, I think my sleep apnea began.

On the other hand, my husband who does not have sleep apnea--he's 67 forgets all kinds of things which he didn't use to forget.

So...aging may play a part in this???

Also, for the past 5 years I've been in a doctoral program. I don't seem to be any stupider than my fellow students although I do think experience counts for something. Anyway, I've written major essays and am now doing a dissertation. I don't feel impaired at all...although I think I get tired faster than I used to. Aging again??

[roster]

.....my husband ....... does not have sleep apnea......

How is this known?

[danmc]

This is an interesting thread, and I'd like to contribute. I'm 62 and have noticed that I lose words...the tired I am, the worse it gets. This has been going on for 10 years, during which time, I think my sleep apnea began.

On the other hand, my husband who does not have sleep apnea--he's 67 forgets all kinds of things which he didn't use to forget.

So...aging may play a part in this???

Also, for the past 5 years I've been in a doctoral program. I don't seem to be any stupider than my fellow students although I do think experience counts for something. Anyway, I've written major essays and am now doing a dissertation. I don't feel impaired at all...although I think I get tired faster than I used to. Aging again??

Thanks Clair, it's great hearing stuff like that. I am 37 and find I lose words myself..its actually called aphasia I think (though I didn't lose that one). Its seems pretty common for everyone. I find that my partner has a much better memory than mine for many things. Maybe its a male thing lol. I often think that the general impression that age is such a barrier to learning etc is wrong. I know plenty of people in their 60's that run rings around people in their 20's. I think its about effort. But I do think sleep loss has a pretty drastic effect and I'm personally hoping that cpap helps reverse the trend. How long have you been treating your apnea if you don't mind me asking? have you noticed any improvement in your memory?

[danmc]

Rooster - I just noticed your pic there. Funny! My face felt like that after the first night of cpap now I think about it .

[roster]

[quote="danmc"]Rooster - I just noticed your pic there. Funny! My face felt like that after the first night of cpap now I think about it .

[EDBRAD]

I think I have been suffering from sleep apnia in some form for the last 25-30 years. I only got diagnosed and started cpap treatment 8 years ago, but I swear there has been an improvement in my memory in that time. My mental functions were pathetic, I got to the point where I could not even read. I was having to rehash each sentence 3-4 times before i could move to the next one, getting past 4 or 5 sentences, I would lose the train of thought all together. Just a real bad case of the stupids all the way around.
I always attributed it to seizure medication, but looking back on it a gradual improvement started to occur after 1 to 2 yrs on cpap. My memory is still horrible but it is light years above what is was.
But its like I always say A good memory is for sissies. Any loser can make it thru life with a good memory, it takes a real man to make it as a half-wit.
I guess thah makes me pretty damn macho, I don't know

[dsm]

Just came into this thread & found it a very interesting read.

Am (as to be expected) very interested in anything written about interelationship between OSA & memory.

I know my quick recall is very slow now compared to what it used to be - I justify it by saying my head is full of 60+ years of intricate detail & that it now takes me much longer to do a scan & cross-evaluate or locate potential answers (works for me ) - when I was younger I had so little data in my head I could analyse & search it 10+ times faster.

My fav saying is "the more I learn the less I know"

DSM

[kteague]

My cognition was severely impaired to the point I was unsafe to even cook. My daughter would bring me food. Didn't really matter, I was too sick to make it to the kitchen for weeks. While I have greatly improved, I am not my former self and since it's been a couple years, I'm not sure how much more I can expect to get back. I'll get periods of clarity, then find myself back to near-duh status.

But all that is so subjective. The part of the study that caught my attention was: "the mammillary bodies of those with sleep apnea were 20 percent smaller than those of people free of the disorder." Wouldn't mind being part of a study group on this topic.

[danmc]

I had a double deviated septum correction and reduction of all six turbinates in November. That photograph was sent to me by a "friend" the afternoon I returned home from the surgery. It still hurts (the photograph, not the surgery):lol:.

e
I hear ya man, I had similar surgery. It's uncomfortable. People were amazed that I had so many procedures at once. I asked the ENT if he had any of them done himself...he laughed and said no. I took him off my Xmas list.

Seriously though, it took quite a while for my swelling to go down (yours may still be there at 6 months) and its dang uncomfortable. You feel worse than before cos its all swollen and you wonder if they used ground glass to rinse your nose and mouth. But it comes good.

I used Fess saline spray in the pressurized can a lot- I mean A LOT. It seemed to help and I wonder if some of the ability of the nose to "rinse" itself is lost in the surgeries. The ability to swallow and a few other things were slightly changed for me too. I think the port and polish job is worth it regardless. I just need a blueprint job and perhaps new rings and I'm reconditioned.