Sleep disturbance linked to risk of Alzheimer's disease

A new study from the University of Washington just published shows that interrupted deep sleep increases the type of protein that causes Alzheimer's disease in the brain. This could be a warning bell that we need to focus on sleep quality.
The findings, published Monday in the journal Brain Research, show that even brief interruptions in sleep lead to higher levels of beta amyloid, a protein that forms plaques believed to be causes Alzheimer's disease. The researchers also suggest that longer-lasting sleep disruptions may also lead to higher levels of another protein called Tau, which forms clumps that can damage brain cells.
Brain cells release less amyloid protein during a good night's sleep and more and more studies are pointing to a relationship between poor sleep and Alzheimer's disease. But doctors and scientists are still trying to understand that link, and the new study marks the first time researchers have linked problems in a specific stage of sleep to more amyloid proteins. . “Certainly, people with poor sleep or sleep disturbances have a higher risk of developing Alzheimer's disease,” says Dr. Yo-El Ju, Neuroscientist and Sleep Medicine physician at the University of Washington. But it's also possible that the brain changes of Alzheimer's appear to make sleep worse."

1. More Disorders, More Amyloid Proteins Dr. Ju and her colleagues sought to determine how sleep disturbances might lead to a higher long-term risk of Alzheimer's disease and determine what part which of sleep was most associated with lower amyloid beta levels.
Researchers wrote a computer program designed to disrupt slow-wave sleep - a deep, dreamless, refreshing sleep - in a group of 17 volunteers, then measured their beta amyloid levels. surname. They have patients wear headphones while they sleep in a controlled environment. A computer monitors the brain waves of sleeping people. As they fell into slow-wave sleep, for half of the participants, the computer beeped louder and louder until that relaxation phase was interrupted.
“Our goal is not to wake them up,” says Dr. Ju. "We want them to continue to sleep, only during the light stages of sleep."
The researchers repeated the experiment about a month later but switched groups. After each night, the doctors collected samples of the cerebrospinal fluid that surrounds the brains of the participants, whose ages ranged from 35 to 65. Tests on those samples showed that nine of the participants had beta levels. amyloid levels were higher after sleep disruption, and levels were higher in those with more disturbed sleep.
Dr Ju says: “When we don't let their brain cells rest by letting them hear all those beeps, they continue to make as much amyloid as during light sleep or wakefulness.
In addition, the participants wore a wrist-worn device to help measure their sleep at home in the days leading up to the procedure. As the study reported, people whose devices only led to poorer sleep had higher levels of tau protein.
Dr. Ju said: “These are people of young or middle age who are normally healthy. They do not have sleep disturbances. But even in this very healthy population, we see changes in their sleep at home affecting tau and amyloid levels. "

2. Unexpected results Alzheimer's is a brain disease that gets worse over time. It robs people of their memory and mental abilities. Although beta amyloid and tau have been implicated in the disease, not everyone who has these proteins in the brain develops Alzheimer's disease.
In the United States alone, more than 5 million people are currently battling the disease, and it has become the sixth leading cause of death. The cost of caring for Alzheimer's patients is expected to top $250 billion this year.
Dr. Adam Spira, clinical psychologist who studies sleep, aging and Alzheimer's disease at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, says previous studies in animals have shown a link. relationship between slow-wave sleep and higher amyloid levels.
New research shows similar results in humans, but more research is needed to figure out the mechanism behind those results.
The new study includes "some impressive findings," said Dr. Miranda Lim, who studies sleep and neurological disorders at Oregon Health & Science University. (Dr. Lim was not involved in Dr. Yu's study): “Most studies only look at the association between Alzheimer's disease and sleep, but the experiment by Dr. Ju and her colleagues examined. See how a particular stage of sleep affects amyloid levels.
Sleep research is at the forefront of our understanding of the pathology, progression and potential treatments of Alzheimer's disease. “Since sleep is a fundamental biological process that changes with each person's age, understanding how sleep regulates the toxic accumulation of proteins involved in neurological diseases will be instrumental in making this work. future therapies, both for those directly related to sleep as well as for the enhancement of other medical treatment goals. ”
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