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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Children who suffer from sleep disordered breathing -- snoring or obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) -- often feel the effects in the classroom. Are they just too sleepy to learn, or is something else going on?
Doctors havent been able to give parents a good answer to that question, because studies havent been able to link the frequency of apnea events -- those short periods during sleep when the child stops breathing -- to the level of cognitive deficits.
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Now researchers from Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center are adding something new to the discussion. Their study measured brain oxygenation during sleep in children who snored and those with OSA, finding kids who snored had lower levels of oxygenation than kids without sleep problems. However, kids with OSA, which is a more severe condition, actually had higher levels.
The finding was explained by the fact that these children also had higher blood pressure than kids who just snored.
By taking into account the role of blood pressure in regulating the amount of oxygen concentration in the brain, we might have a better understanding of the relationship between sleep-disordered breathing and cognitive deficit, study author Raouf Amin, M.D., was quoted as saying.
In an accompanying editorial, David Gozal, M.D., from the University of Louisville, agreed, noting the study shows us that . . . neurocognitive deficits are not just in the brain matter but involve the cardiovascular system as well.
SOURCE: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, published online October 7, 2008
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