Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is common in MS patients and is the leading cause of fatigue for many patients. Many MS patients have undiagnosed sleep disorders leaving MS as the reason for their fatigue or depression. When OSA is properly treated the fatigue, depression or other symptoms should diminish.
New UCLA research reports evidence that OSA can contribute to a breakdown in the blood-brain barrier (BBB) increasing brain tissue damage. The BBB limits harmful bacteria, infection, and chemicals from reaching the brain. Studies have found that compromised blood-brain barrier function is associated with significant brain damage in stroke, epilepsy, meningitis, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and other conditions. The discovery, reported in the Sept. 1 issue of the Journal of Neuroimaging, could lead to new approaches for treating OSA.
“We found that the blood-brain barrier becomes more permeable in obstructive sleep apnea, a breakdown that could contribute to brain injury, as well as potentially enhancing or accelerating the damage,” says Rajesh Kumar, the study’s principal investigator and an associate professor in the departments of anesthesiology and radiological sciences at the UCLA Geffen School of Medicine, in a release. “This type of brain injury in obstructive sleep apnea has significant consequences to memory, mood, and cardiovascular risk, but physicians and researchers have developed pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic therapeutic strategies to repair blood-brain barrier function in other conditions.”
1. OSA is common in MS and may contribute to MS fatigue, depression and brain tissue damage
http://www.medicaldaily.com/obstruct...fatigue-269291
2. New research about OSA and the Blood Brain Barrier
http://www.sleepreviewmag.com/2015/0...rier-function/
New UCLA research reports evidence that OSA can contribute to a breakdown in the blood-brain barrier (BBB) increasing brain tissue damage. The BBB limits harmful bacteria, infection, and chemicals from reaching the brain. Studies have found that compromised blood-brain barrier function is associated with significant brain damage in stroke, epilepsy, meningitis, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and other conditions. The discovery, reported in the Sept. 1 issue of the Journal of Neuroimaging, could lead to new approaches for treating OSA.
“We found that the blood-brain barrier becomes more permeable in obstructive sleep apnea, a breakdown that could contribute to brain injury, as well as potentially enhancing or accelerating the damage,” says Rajesh Kumar, the study’s principal investigator and an associate professor in the departments of anesthesiology and radiological sciences at the UCLA Geffen School of Medicine, in a release. “This type of brain injury in obstructive sleep apnea has significant consequences to memory, mood, and cardiovascular risk, but physicians and researchers have developed pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic therapeutic strategies to repair blood-brain barrier function in other conditions.”
1. OSA is common in MS and may contribute to MS fatigue, depression and brain tissue damage
http://www.medicaldaily.com/obstruct...fatigue-269291
2. New research about OSA and the Blood Brain Barrier
http://www.sleepreviewmag.com/2015/0...rier-function/
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