Insomnia can lead to Alzheimer's disease

Insomnia throughout the night and stay in the daytime as in a fog ... Many face such manifestations of insomnia. According to a new study, poor sleep quality and daytime sleepiness may increase the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

Interesting study

For the study, 101 people were invited. None of these people had any cognitive impairment. The age of the subjects was 63 years.

After the participants of the experiment filled out questionnaires with questions about the quality of their sleep, each of them submitted for testing their spinal fluid. The aim of the analysis was to identify the presence of indicator plaques, which are a characteristic feature of Alzheimer's disease. Scientists concluded that poor sleep quality and daytime sleepiness are associated with an increase in the prevalence of the disease.

Effect of beta-amyloids on the occurrence of plaques in the brain

While the relationship between lack of sleep and dementia is not 100% obvious, several animal studies have found that during sleep, the ability of the brain to isolate toxins such as beta amyloids (toxic proteins) improves. It is they that provoke the appearance of plaques in the brain in patients with Alzheimer's disease, and it is possible that exactly the same process occurs in humans. The introduction of amyloid into the brain tissue is the first known preclinical stage of Alzheimer's disease and occurs long before the signs of dementia.

All participants in the study had risk factors for Alzheimer's disease. Genetic prerequisites, family history and data on APOE genes that are associated with a greater likelihood of extinction of mental activity were taken into account. Each person gave an estimate of the number of hours of sleep, the quality of sleep, and also noted daytime sleepiness.

"Participants in this study were ready to undergo a lumbar puncture to advance research on the causes of Alzheimer's," said senior author Barbara Bendlin of the Disease Research Center in Wisconsin. "The analysis of this fluid allowed us to look at such markers associated with Alzheimer's disease as plaques, as well as indicators of inflammation and damage to nerve cells."

Bad sleep does not provoke the disease in all cases

It should be noted that not everyone who has sleep problems develops Alzheimer's disease. Barbara Bendlin, who is an assistant professor of medicine at the School of Medicine at the University of Wisconsin, told The New York Times: "We are observing groups of people and often note the relationship of poor sleep with neurodegeneration markers. But when you look at people, not all are marked by the presence of insomnia. "

Experiments on mice

This latest study is a continuation of previous scientific research showing that disturbed sleep can be the cause of dementia. Other studies have revealed a link between chronic sleep disorders and the development of amyloid plaques. A study in mice showed that in animals that slept, the level of beta-amyloid was reduced. A full rest effectively cleared the brain of mice from toxic substances.

Bendlin and her colleagues are watching people who are at risk of Alzheimer's. Subjects will be examined in a sleep laboratory, where objective tests will be performed.

Will the development of the disease improve the quality of sleep?

"If it turns out that an intervention that eliminates such a pathological condition as insomnia will result in less amyloid depositing in the brain, then it will provide strong support for therapeutic activities before people begin to manifest a cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer's disease "- said Bendlin.

Bendlin also states that before asking a neurologist to write you a sleeping pill, you need to know exactly whether the medicine affects the amyloid for sleeping. The next step will be further prescribing of medicines in accordance with this indicator.