Are sleep problems a key factor in Alzheimer’s?

October, 2012

A mouse study shows that sleep deprivation and aggregation of amyloid beta go hand in hand, and may be key players on the road to Alzheimer’s.

I reported a few months ago on some evidence of a link between disturbed sleep and the development of Alzheimer’s. Now a mouse study adds to this evidence.

The mouse study follows on from an earlier study showing that brain levels of amyloid beta naturally rise when healthy young mice are awake and drop after they go to sleep, and that sleep deprivation disrupted this cycle and accelerated the development of amyloid plaques. This natural rhythm was confirmed in humans.

In the new study, it was found that this circadian rhythm showed the first signs of disruption as soon as Alzheimer’s plaques began forming in the mice’s brains. When the genetically engineered mice were given a vaccine against amyloid beta, the mice didn’t develop plaques in old age, the natural fluctuations in amyloid beta levels continued, and sleep patterns remained normal.

Research with humans in now underway to see whether patients with early markers of Alzheimer’s show sleep problems, and what the nature of these problems is.

Just to make it clear: the point is not so much that Alzheimer’s patients are more likely to have sleep problems, but that the sleep problems may in fact be part of the cause of Alzheimer’s disease development. The big question, of course, is whether you can prevent its development by attacking the dysfunction in circadian rhythm. (See more on this debate at Biomed)

Reference: 

Related News

A study involving 614 patients with type 2 diabetes (mean age 62) has found that longer duration of diabetes was associated with more brain volume loss, particularly in the gray matter.

Type 2 diabetes greatly increases a person's risk of developing cardiovascular disease, but a new study shows that cardiovascular risk factors such as elevated blood pressure and cholesterol levels differ significantly between men and women with diabetes.

A mouse study has found that introduction of oral bacteria into the bloodstream increased risk factors for atherosclerotic heart disease, including cholesterol and inflammation, suggesting that the same bacteria that cause gum disease also promotes heart disease.

A large study, involving 3,690 older adults, has found that drugs with strong anticholinergic effects cause memory and cognitive impairment when taken continuously for a mere two months.

A new study adds to growing evidence of a link between sleep problems and Alzheimer’s. The interesting thing is that this association – between sleep apnea and Alzheimer’s biomarkers — wasn’t revealed until the data was separated out according to BMI.

Family caregivers of dementia sufferers who are reluctant to use adult day care services might like to note the findings of a telephone survey. The study involved eight daily telephone interviews on consecutive days with 173 family caregivers who use an ADS on some days.

Last year, a cancer drug, Bexarotene, was touted as a potential treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. However, four independent studies have now failed to replicate the most dramatic result of the original study: a claim that the drug could clear half the amyloid plaques in a mere 72 hours.

I’ve been happily generous with cinnamon on my breakfast ever since the first hints came out that cinnamon might help protect against Alzheimer’s (it’s not like it’s an ordeal to add cinnamon!). Now a new study has revealed why.

Late-life depression is associated with an increased risk for all-cause dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and, most predominantly,

Because long-term cognitive decline can occur in some older adults after undergoing surgery, there has been some concern that exposure to anesthesia may be associated with increased dementia risk.

Pages

Subscribe to Latest newsSubscribe to Latest newsSubscribe to Latest health newsSubscribe to Latest news