Sleep apnea associated with memory loss

Researchers in the US have made a groundbreaking discovery that links sleep apnea to memory loss.

For the first time, a team of neurobiologists at UCLA have found that people who suffer from sleep apnea experience loss of tissue in the regions of the brain that store memory.

The study's principal investigator Ronald Harper, professor of neurobiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, said: "Our findings demonstrate that impaired breathing during sleep can lead to a serious brain injury that disrupts memory and thinking."

For the investigation, the team performed brain scans on 43 sleep apnea patients using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Elizabeth G Nabel, director of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, which funded the study, added: "UCLA researchers used sophisticated imaging technology to identify brain lesions associated with impaired memory in individuals with obstructive sleep apnea.

"These results underscore the importance of early diagnosis and treatment of sleep-disordered breathing, which can have long-term effects on patients' health and well-being."