Is brain damage due to sleep apnea reversible?

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
NotNotLaosho
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Is brain damage due to sleep apnea reversible?

Post by NotNotLaosho » Wed May 18, 2022 1:30 pm

Hi.

Is brain damage due to sleep apnea reversible?

The only study I could read about it (and which is repeated everywhere) is this one: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4153061/

But knowing that this study was supported by Respironics, I have a doubt about its reliability I prefer to be wary. I am really scared that my cognitive abilities will not return to normal, even after treatment.

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chunkyfrog
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Re: Is brain damage due to sleep apnea reversible?

Post by chunkyfrog » Wed May 18, 2022 2:11 pm

Within a few months of starting CPAP (Resmed), my boss commented
that my concentration and memory had improved considerably.
I also observed that my temper had improved--my family noticed that.
In others, chronic oxygen deprivation has often been misdiagnosed as. Alzheimer's.

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ChicagoGranny
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Re: Is brain damage due to sleep apnea reversible?

Post by ChicagoGranny » Wed May 18, 2022 2:13 pm

NotNotLaosho wrote:
Wed May 18, 2022 1:30 pm
I am really scared
That won't help. Get it out of your mind. Make sure your CPAP therapy is working well (OSCAR). Learn what good sleep hygiene is and practice it religiously. Eat a healthy diet - no fads, just veggies, nuts, fruits and lean meats. Have a regular, moderate exercise program. Walking is great; swinging the arm rhythmically helps body and mind. Weight lifting is also good - just the basic, compound movements - squat, bench press, deadlifts, pullups, dips, etc.

Studies are about populations. They can't tell how your brain and body will respond.

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lazarus
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Re: Is brain damage due to sleep apnea reversible?

Post by lazarus » Wed May 18, 2022 2:13 pm

Once the brain has adapted to longstanding moderate-to-severe OSA, the condition itself is not considered reversible. However, the brain is a highly resilient and adaptable organ that can do amazing things with restoring cognitive ability once it is receiving sufficient sleep and sufficient O2 all night every night through optimized PAP therapy.

As for me, I'm still no rocket scientist. But my wife says I'm absolutely the smartest husband she's ever had. (Which is a good thing, since I'm the only husband she's ever had.)
The people who confuse "entomology" and "etymology" really bug me beyond words.
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NotNotLaosho
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Re: Is brain damage due to sleep apnea reversible?

Post by NotNotLaosho » Wed May 18, 2022 2:22 pm

chunkyfrog wrote:
Wed May 18, 2022 2:11 pm
Within a few months of starting CPAP (Resmed), my boss commented
that my concentration and memory had improved considerably.
I also observed that my temper had improved--my family noticed that.
In others, chronic oxygen deprivation has often been misdiagnosed as. Alzheimer's.
I have more problems with comprehension than with memory. I'm afraid I won't understand what I used to understand easily. If it was just my memory and focus, I wouldn't worry more than that.
lazarus wrote:
Wed May 18, 2022 2:13 pm
Once the brain has adapted to longstanding moderate-to-severe OSA, the condition itself is not considered reversible. However, the brain is a highly resilient and adaptable organ that can do amazing things with restoring cognitive ability once it is receiving sufficient sleep and sufficient O2 all night every night through optimized PAP therapy.
What is "longstanding moderate-to-severe OSA" ? A year ? A decade ? It's been two years since the beginning of my symptoms.

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lazarus
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Re: Is brain damage due to sleep apnea reversible?

Post by lazarus » Wed May 18, 2022 2:39 pm

NotNotLaosho wrote:
Wed May 18, 2022 2:22 pm
What is "longstanding moderate-to-severe OSA" ? A year ? A decade ?
The length of time before significant sleep-disordered breathing gets hardwired into the brain has not been established with any consensus yet.

But it HAS been established that optimized PAP all night every night is the gold standard for getting your sleep and O2 back to normal, and even better than normal, if simple obstruction is the only issue affecting sleep and O2.

So, in a sense, it is similar to hearing the following statement from someone: "I have been very thirsty for a long time, and now that I'm seriously dehydrated, I'm worried that drinking water won't fix the damage from dehydration." The solution is water and giving the body what it needs to retain the water so it can fix what it can. But you will still have to keep drinking after that.

Years of untreated OSA denied the body two things equally as important as water: air and sleep. First get PAP optimized so that the body and brain can get the sleep and air they need. THEN figure out what you need to do to keep getting those necessities for life by continuing PAP therapy.
The people who confuse "entomology" and "etymology" really bug me beyond words.
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jimbud
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Re: Is brain damage due to sleep apnea reversible?

Post by jimbud » Wed May 18, 2022 3:49 pm

There is hope:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2 ... 133654.htm

Just keep on your therapy, "First Do No More Damage".

JPB

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zonker
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Re: Is brain damage due to sleep apnea reversible?

Post by zonker » Wed May 18, 2022 5:50 pm

lazarus wrote:
Wed May 18, 2022 2:13 pm
But my wife says I'm absolutely the smartest husband she's ever had. (Which is a good thing, since I'm the only husband she's ever had.)
so far.
people say i'm self absorbed.
but that's enough about them.
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Re: Is brain damage due to sleep apnea reversible?

Post by Architect » Wed May 18, 2022 5:56 pm

I went through 3 years of benzo withdrawal nightmare, chemical imbalance, I was getting brain zaps, severe brain fog, etc.... thought I would never recover. Approx a year after, withdrawal stopped, my brain recovered back to full strength.

Same with sleep apnea, I stopped breathing 33 times per hour and 40 during REM. I felt like death, swore I had brain damage, after beginning therapy, over time I returned back to normal.

I can truly relate to fear, uncertainty, try not to be scared friend. I believe our body system is very complex, can overcome life setbacks. Good luck...

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lazarus
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Re: Is brain damage due to sleep apnea reversible?

Post by lazarus » Wed May 18, 2022 6:14 pm

zonker wrote:
Wed May 18, 2022 5:50 pm
so far
And now I'M scared.
The people who confuse "entomology" and "etymology" really bug me beyond words.
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ozij
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Re: Is brain damage due to sleep apnea reversible?

Post by ozij » Wed May 18, 2022 7:27 pm

There are many ways for the brain to heal, just as there are for other parts of the body.
NotNotLaosho wrote:
Wed May 18, 2022 1:30 pm

The only study I could read about it (and which is repeated everywhere) is this one: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4153061/
The only article you quote is from 2014.
Similar articles for PMID: 25142557
Filters applied: Abstract, in the last 5 years.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?filter ... d=25142557
ChicagoGranny wrote:
Wed May 18, 2022 2:13 pm
Studies are about populations. They can't tell how your brain and body will respond.
You don't buy shoes according to population studies of shoe size. You don't decide how long your pants /trousers will be based on the population average.

Make your case of one your own research project. And focus your intellectual energy on that
jimbud wrote:
Wed May 18, 2022 3:49 pm
Just keep on your therapy, "First Do No More Damage".
And time spent without proper therapy is a sure way to do more damage.

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Janknitz
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Re: Is brain damage due to sleep apnea reversible?

Post by Janknitz » Thu May 19, 2022 2:06 pm

I participated in the American Sleep Apnea Association conference in 2019. Karen Wolk, who was one of the panel members had severe cognitive issues as a result of her apnea. Her video interview is here: https://youtu.be/pozyDRaE-LI Her cognition was restored with proper treatment.

This is not to imply that only the device she used will work, it's just to show that getting adequate treatment of your OSA might improve your cognitive issues.
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Chris33022
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Re: Is brain damage due to sleep apnea reversible?

Post by Chris33022 » Thu May 19, 2022 2:11 pm

NotNotLaosho wrote:
Wed May 18, 2022 1:30 pm
Is brain damage due to sleep apnea reversible?
I've been wondering the same thing (I started CPAP 5 weeks ago). So I Googled it a while ago and found this article: "CPAP therapy restores brain tissue in adults with sleep apnea, study finds"
Here's the link: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2 ... 065550.htm

According to the article, it sounds like whatever degree of brain damage reversal we will get thanks to CPAP will happen in the first year, and not after that.

Here's the part describing this:

<< Results indicate that obstructive sleep apnea patients showed focal reductions of grey-matter volume at baseline in the left hippocampus, posterior parietal cortex and right superior frontal gyrus. Significant grey-matter volume increases were observed after three months of continuous positive airway pressure therapy in hippocampal and frontal structures. No further improvement in gray-matter volume was observed after one year of CPAP therapy. >>

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Re: Is brain damage due to sleep apnea reversible?

Post by Dog Slobber » Thu May 19, 2022 3:08 pm

Can't help but apply the "Will I be able to play piano" joke to CPAP.

My discussion with my Sleep Doctor:

Me: Doctor, will I be smart after I start using the CPAP.
Dr.: Yes, of course.
Me: Great. I never was before.

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chunkyfrog
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Re: Is brain damage due to sleep apnea reversible?

Post by chunkyfrog » Thu May 19, 2022 4:37 pm

In the 12 years since I started cpap, my brain has worked better than it did in the
previous twenty years before cpap.
In the last five years, I have observed moderate, age-related decline in many things.
I shall likely enter my dotage kicking and screaming.

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