Here we review these different lines of evidence, making a case that the interactive effects of sleep apnea and the APOE epsilon 4 allele represent an important mechanism by which patients with TBI may develop a range of cognitive and neurobehavioral impairments.
We review here evidence related to associations between sleep apnea and dementia, the role of APOE4 as a likely marker for cerebrovascular disease, and discuss treatment considerations relevant to sleep apnea as a potentially reversible cause of dementia.