Subscribe now  Home | News  Sleep apnoea linked to stuttering
and brain damage  People with sleep apnoea are much more likely
to have stuttered as children - and early brain damage could
explain the link. The new finding represents a shift in
understanding of what causes the devastating sleep disorder, the
team says.  Brain scans conducted by a team led by Ronald Harper
at the University of California, Los Angeles, showed that
patients with obstructive sleep apnoea also had damage in
regions that regulate breathing and speech. The researchers also
found that almost 40 per cent of the sufferers stuttered as
children, compared with an average of just seven per cent of the
general population.  "For decades, we have blamed sleep apnoea
solely on a narrowed airway caused by enlarged tonsils, a small
jaw or excess fat in the throat," says Harper. "Our findings
show that sleep apnoea patients also suffer disordered wiring in
brain regions that control muscles of the airway. These glitches
may lead to the syndrome, w