We don’t know much about Alzheimer’s disease yet, but the relationship between lack of sleep and worsening illnesses is something researchers are happy to explore.
In a study published in 2023, scientists found that using sleeping pills to obtain closed eyes can reduce the accumulation of toxic masses of protein in the liquid that cleanses the brain every night.
Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis found people who took it Suvorexanta common treatment for insomnia, experienced a slight drop in two proteins during two nights at the sleep clinic. Amyloid Beta and Tauit is piling up in Alzheimer’s disease.
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Although it only includes a small group of healthy adults, this study is an interesting demonstration of the link between sleep and molecular markers of Alzheimer’s disease.
Sleep disorders can be an early warning sign of Alzheimer’s disease that precedes other symptoms, such as memory loss and cognitive decline. And by the time the initial symptoms begin, abnormal levels of amyloid beta almost peak, forming a mass called plaque that clogs brain cells.
Researchers believe that promoting sleep by allowing the sleep brain to flush out remaining protein and other waste could be one of the ways to stop Alzheimer’s disease.
Sleeping pills may help in that regard, but “for those worried about developing Alzheimer’s, it is too early to interpret it as a reason to start taking marsh every night.” I said Brendan Lucy, a neurologist at the Washington University Center for Sleep Medicine, led the study.
This study involved 38 middle-aged participants who only glowed 2 nights but showed no signs of cognitive impairment and had no sleep problems.
Long-term use of sleeping pills is not the ideal solution for people who are suffering from sleep deprivation.
Sleeping pills can also keep people in lighter sleep, rather than deeper sleep. This may be a problem Previous research from Lucy and her colleagues A link between lower quality, slow wave sleep, and tau tangles and increased levels of amyloid beta protein were found.
In their latest research, Lucy and her colleagues wanted to see if improving sleep with the help of sleeping pills could reduce the levels of tau and amyloid beta in the cerebrospinal fluid that soaks the brain and spinal cord. Past research shows that even that One night that disrupts my sleep It can increase amyloid beta levels.
A group of volunteers, ages 45 to 65, received either two doses or a placebo tablets, an hour after the researchers tapped on small spinal fluid to collect small samples.
Researchers continued to collect samples for 36 hours while participants were asleep the next day and the night, and 36 hours to measure changes in protein levels.
There were no differences in sleep between groups, but compared to placebo, amyloid beta concentrations decreased by 10-20% with doses of saborexant, usually prescribed for insomnia.
Additionally, higher doses of suvorexant temporarily reduced levels of hyperphosphorylated tau, a modified form of tau protein associated with the formation of tau entanglement and cell death.
However, this effect was only seen in some forms of tau, with tau concentrations bouncing within 24 hours of taking sleeping pills.
“If tau phosphorylation can be reduced, there could be fewer entangled formations and fewer neuronal deaths.” I said Lucy, I’m still hoping for that Future research for the elderly Testing sleeping pills for several months may measure their lasting effects on protein levels (while keeping an eye on the drawbacks of sleeping pills).
Of course, this all depends on understanding what caused Alzheimer’s.
The main theory that abnormal protein masses drive pathology in Alzheimer’s disease has recently been undergoing intense scrutiny after decades of research aimed at lowering amyloid levels have not actually been converted into useful drugs or treatments that prevent or delay disease. This has led researchers to rethink how Alzheimer’s disease develops.
In other words, sleeping pills may help some people get shut down, but using them as preventive treatments to drive away Alzheimer’s is a vague outlook that falls under the now shameful hypothesis of Alzheimer’s pathology.
However, there is growing evidence that it is increasingly linked sleep disorders to Alzheimer’s disease. This is a disease where there is no treatment. Lucy says seeking better sleep hygiene and treatment for sleep problems such as sleep apnea are both sensible approaches to improving brain health, which is common at all ages.
“We hope to finally develop a drug that utilizes the link between sleep and Alzheimer’s disease to prevent cognitive decline.” I said Lucy. However, he admitted that “we’re not there yet.”
This study was published in Chronicles of Neurology.
An earlier version of this article was published in April 2023.
