Sleep apnea and alzheimer's

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and Alzheimer's dementia get more common as we age. This article discusses research that shows that markers of Alzheimers increase as the severity of OSA increases. And this was more true for lean patients than for obese ones. In other words, the more severe your OSA, the more likely you are to have these markers for Alzheimer's. The authors of the study speculate that obesity may somehow be protective of alheimer's, and that's why they were less likely to have the markers even if the have OSA. Maybe. But perhaps the lean people had OSA much longer, and had more time to damage the brain, resulting in changes seen in Alzheimers.