Sleep apnea study finds male-female differences in cerebral cortex thickness, symptoms

FINDINGSResearchers from the UCLA School of Nursing examined clinical records and magnetic resonance imaging brain scans of patients who were recently diagnosed with sleep apnea, and discovered several apparent connections between thinning of the brain ’s cerebral cortex and apnea symptoms. The researchers also could discern distinct changes in brain structures and concurrent symptoms that differed between men and women. For example, more regions of the superior frontal lobe were thinner in women with apnea than men or control groups, which migh t explain enhanced cognitive deficits among women with the disorder. No sleep apnea patients showed any thickening of the cerebral cortex. In addition, overall cortical thinning could possibly lead to impaired regulation of the autonomic nervous system and associated impaired breathing function thro ugh the upper airway in these patients.BACKGROUNDObstructive sleep apnea, which involves disruption of the upper airway, affects about 10 percent of adults. Its cause is unknown. Men are twice as likely to have sleep apnea as women, and symptoms and brain function appear to vary between men and women. However, while previous studies have made connections between brain structure changes and general clinical signs, none have definitively linked sex differences in brain structure with symptoms in sleep apnea.   Left untreated, the impact of sleep apnea on brain damage progresses overtime.METHODUsing high-resolution magnetic resonance imagi...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news