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Heavy snorers 'are at greater risk of getting Alzheimer's'
Heavy snorers have a higher risk developing Alzheimer's disease, scientists have found.
Researchers discovered that a reduced flow of oxygen to the brain can cause the condition.
Many snorers have disturbed sleep patterns, which means their brains can become hypoxic -
deprived of sufficient oxygen. |
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Forty-two per cent of Britons snore,
according to the British Snoring and Sleep Apnoea
Association, with men twice as likely to be heavy snorers than women.
Those who have had strokes, heart attacks or head injuries are also more vulnerable to
Alzheimer's in later life, the Leeds University study found.
Professor Chris Peers, who led the research, said: 'We are looking into what happens when
oxygen levels in the brain are reduced by a number of factors, from long-term conditions
like emphysema and angina, to sudden incidents such as heart attack, stroke or even head
trauma.
'Even though the patient may outwardly recover, the hidden cell damage may be
irreversible.
It could even be an issue for people who snore heavily, whose who sleep patterns are such
that there will be times in the night when their brain is hypoxic.'
Professor Peers looked at the damage done when a group of brain cells called astrocytes
become oxygen-deprived.
Normally, these cells 'mop up' the chemicals which transmit messages in the brain is
deprived
of oxygen, these cells are less able to mop up the residual chemical - allowing them to
accumulate and become toxic.
It is these toxic chemical which can cause Alzheimer's.
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