Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience (Jan 2021)

Association Between Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Its Treatment, and Alzheimer's Disease: Systematic Mini-Review

  • Chih-Yun Kuo,
  • Hung-Ta Hsiao,
  • Ing-Hsien Lo,
  • Tomas Nikolai

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2020.591737
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12

Abstract

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Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) are common in the elderly population. Obstructive sleep apnea that may cause significant changes in the cerebrospinal fluid β-amyloid and T-tau and/or P-tau protein levels is often identified as a risk factor for development of AD. Although the underlying mechanisms of AD are still not fully understood, a hypothesis associating OSA with AD has been already proposed. In this systematic mini-review, we first discuss the recent findings supporting the association of OSA with an increased risk of AD and then provide evidence suggesting the positive effect of OSA treatment on a reduced risk of AD.

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