You wrote: “I would be interested in knowing if untreated sleep apnea could then be a cause at some level of Alzheimers. My dad succumbed to Alzheimers and was a pretty good snorer.”
_______________________________________________________
Sorry I’m late to this discussion. Just discovered it now.
Below are some articles that might be of interest.
If anyone knows of easier treatments (for sleep apnea) that avoid the use of C-PAP machines, please let me know. If possible, pass on this info to others who might be more knowledgeable than I am and might have good suggestions. If so, please report back. Thanks.
_______
Sleep Apnea Linked to Cognitive Difficulties and Deficits in Gray Matter
ScienceDaily (Nov. 14, 2010) — Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may blame their daytime difficulties on simple sleepiness, but new research suggests that their brains may be to blame. Specifically, their cognitive challenges may be caused by structural deficits in gray matter, brought on by the intermittent oxygen deprivation that comes with OSA. The good news is that these deficits may be partially or fully reversible with early detection and treatment, according to Italian researchers...
Full article here: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101112141119.htm
_______
Sleep apnea may raise dementia risk, study finds
San Francisco Chronicle
August 10, 2011
… Sleep disorders, and sleep apnea in particular, have long been associated with memory loss and dementia in particular, but the study is among the first to strongly suggest that the sleep problems may be a cause - not an effect - of the cognitive impairment...
... “What we’re seeing is a nearly twofold increase of having cognitive problems five years later.”...
... Some animal studies have found a connection between hypoxia and buildup of beta amyloid, the material that collects like plaque in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. Other studies have tied low oxygen levels to increased brain inflammation...
Full article here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/08/10/MNJK1KLC2V.DTL
_______
Obstructive sleep apnea: brain structural changes and neurocognitive function before and after treatment
“... After treatment, we observed significant improvements involving memory, attention, and executive-functioning that paralleled gray-matter volume increases in hippocampal and frontal structures...”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21037021
_______
Sleep-Disordered Breathing, Hypoxia, and Risk of Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia in Older Women
http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/306/6/613.short
_______
Sleep-Disordered Breathing and Cognitive Decline in Older Adults
http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/306/6/654.short