Let's suppose that sleep apnea (SA) is the cause of Alzheimer's Disease (AD), as I contend. That means that those patients who are currently being treated for SA with a positive airway pressure (PAP) machine will avoid the the disease altogether. Their brains will be spared the repeated bouts of hypoxemia, surges of stress hormones and adverse effects of sleep deprivation that occur with each airway obstruction (apnea) during sleep. They won't get AD, whereas their untreated next door neighbors with SA, will likely succumb to the disease (assuming one of the other deadly disorders doesn't get him/her first).
There will be a noticable decline in AD in this group of treated patients. That's when the medical community will take notice and the word will finally get out that SA is indeed the cause of AD and that the prevention is the faithful (100%) use of a PAP machine when asleep.
In other words, the study that has not been done to prove or disprove the theory, is already in progress, albeit an uncontrolled one at that. It will take years to get any useful information this way. A controlled study designed to answer this question, one with a shorter time frame should be done.
Here's the kicker. If you have SA, it should be treated anyway to keep from having obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart attack, cardiac arrhythmias, sudden cardiac arrest, stroke, and the list goes on....The prevention of AD with SA treatment is a bonus for having made it that long. It's like winning the lotto and you didn't even know you were playing.
My suggestion is: Have a sleep test (polysomnogram (PSG)) either in-lab or at home. By the way, I believe everyone should have a sleep test. Why everyone? Because many SA patients have no symptoms. So it's not possible to tell who has it and who doesn't. Sure if you are older, over weight, excessively sleepy, snore, etc. you have a higher risk, but the fact is that the person you might least suspect may have the worst case scenario.
If your test is positive and you have SA, treat it faithfully (100%). You won't become obese, develop diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular or cerebrovascular complications, etc. Plus, you will prevent Alzheimer's Disease.
The bottom line: If you have sleep apnea, treat it now.
Yes, sleep apnea is horrible for overall health. It would be wonderful if everyone could have the test as a part of a physical - say every five years. That isn't likly going to happen, unless people have the money to pay for it themselves, but it actually is a very wise suggestion.
Thanks for this information.
Carol
Carol, the possibility of a sleep test for everyone is not unrealistic now that home sleep tests are available. There is even a sleep strip that you paste on like a mustache. It has three prongs, two for nasal and one for mouth airflow and a microchip that records the apneas. It costs about $65.