• K Kinugawa, V H Nguyen-Michel, and J Mariani.
• Unité d'explorations fonctionnelles du sujet âgé, hôpital Charles-Foix, Assistance publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, 7, avenue de la République, 94005 Ivry-sur-Seine, France; UMR 8256 « Adaptation Biologique et Vieillissement », UPMC/CNRS - Sorbonne universités, 4, place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France; Institut de la longévité Charles-Foix, 7, avenue de la République, 92005 Ivry-sur-Seine, France. Electronic address: kiyoka.kinugawa@cfx.aphp.fr.
• Rev Med Interne. 2014 Oct 1; 35 (10): 664-9.

AbstractObstructive sleep apnea syndrome is a chronic disease characterized by repeated upper airway obstructions during sleep, resulting in fragmented sleep with arousals, nocturnal intermittent hypoxemia and diurnal dysfunctions. Despite its high prevalence in elderly, sleep apnea syndrome seems to be underestimated and difficult to be recognized because of the lack of clinical symptoms specificity in this population. Among the numerous consequences of the obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, cognitive impairment prevails on the attention, executive functions and memory. Neuroimaging studies in human and experimental models allowed to highlight neural correlates of these cognitive dysfunctions in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. The obstructive sleep apnea syndrome with cognitive impairment shares some features with Alzheimer's disease, involving genetic predisposition ApoE4, hippocampus and synaptic plasticity abnormalities. In this context, the question arises whether obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is a possible etiological or aggravating factor of cognitive decline in elderly with mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's disease. Although there are conflicting results in studies evaluating therapeutic efficiency of continuous positive air pressure, obstructive sleep apnea syndrome seems nevertheless as a correctable factor, at least for its impact on some cognitive consequences. Looking for sleep apnea syndrome in elderly with cognitive decline should be considered in a global, diagnosis and therapeutic management. Copyright © 2014 Société nationale française de médecine interne (SNFMI). Published by Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.

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