A new research study conducted by the John Hopkins University shows a link between apnea in kids and brain impairment that could hinder their ability to learn new tasks. Children with apnea, often manifested as a habit of snoring, perform significantly worse on IQ tests and tests to measure verbal working memory and verbal fluency.
Using a special type of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the researchers found that those children with sleep apnea had significant changes in two brain regions associated with higher mental function: the hippocampus and the right frontal cortex. They also determined that the children had altered ratios of three brain chemicals -- N-aceytl aspartate, creatine and choline -- which are indicative of brain damage.
"Executive function is the ability to take an old memory and put it to use in a new situation," said Dr. Ann Halbower, medical director of the pediatric sleep disorders program at the Hopkins' Children's Center in Baltimore. "It's what makes smart people smart. The clinical implications are that doctors need to understand that sleep apnea is more of a problem that we thought it was. It's not just a disease of old people."
Because untreated sleep apnea appears to impair brain chemistry, its effects could be permanent, Halbower added.
"We can only assume that it could turn an otherwise smart kid into a mediocre kid, which could mark him for life," she said.
But it's also possible that these effects are reversible. Halbower's next study will try to determine whether sleep-apnea treatment can restore normal brain chemistry and cognitive function.
The standard treatment for sleep apnea in children is surgical removal of enlarged tonsils and adenoids, which can obstruct breathing. Other treatments include removal of excess tissue in the back of the throat or nose and the use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines to maintain normal airflow during sleep.
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