Lack of sleep could play a role in the onset of Alzheimer’s according to what some scientists have demonstrated. Here’s what transpired.
For the first time, the direct link between sleep and Alzheimer’s disease has been demonstrated. The study, the result of the collaboration between the Sleep Medicine Center of the Molinette hospital of the Città della Salute in Turin and the Neuroscience Institute of Cavalieri Ottolenghi (NICO), was published in the international scientific journal Acta Neuropathologica Communicationsha. The research examined the effect of disturbed sleep in mice genetically predisposed to beta-amyloid deposition. It has been demonstrated that the only fragmentation of sleep obtained by inducing short awakenings without modifying the total sleep time, for a period of 1 month (approximately corresponding to 3 years of human life), compromises the functioning of the glymphatic system, increases deposition of the beta-amyloid protein and irreversibly compromises the cognitive functions of the animal, even if young.
sleep in Alzheimer’s patients
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Night rest in patients with Alzheimer’s disease is often disturbed due to the very nature of the disease, to the point that it can lead to a real inversion of the sleep-wake rhythm. Many dementia sufferers lose the ability to tell day from night and wander around the house when everyone is asleep. It also often happens that they leave the house, with relative concerns for family members and risks for the patient. Conversely, it has been observed that sleep disorders themselves, such as sleep deprivation, insomnia and apneas, can negatively influence the course of the disease. In short, a real vicious circle that irreparably accelerates the progression of the disease. In patients with disturbed sleep, both in terms of quantity and quality, there is an increase in the brain deposit of a protein (beta-amyloid) implicated in the genesis of Alzheimer’s disease. The study in question demonstrated that this increase depends on its reduced elimination by the glymphatic system (the “cleaning system” of the brain, particularly active during deep sleep and located in the central nervous system). The research, in addition to demonstrating the strong link between sleep disorders and Alzheimer’s disease and demonstrating the mechanism, also leads to further considerations: in subjects predisposed to Alzheimer’s disease, from a young age, disturbed sleep can favor the onset of neurodegenerative processes. But it is not only the quantity of sleep that is relevant, but also its quality: it is only in deep sleep that the glymphatic system can efficiently carry out the task of “cleaning” and eliminating the neurotoxic substances that accumulate during wakefulness. even in the absence of other factors (reduction of sleep time or hypoxic conditions), only the fragmentation of sleep in the brain, hindering the maintenance of deep sleep, is able to trigger and maintain the process.
the role of sleep for health
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This study confirms the fundamental role of sleep for psycho-physical health. From a mere interruption of wakefulness, as it was considered in the past, today it can be said that sleep is an active phenomenon, during which the neurotoxic substances that accumulate during wakefulness are eliminated, which regulates our metabolism, the immune and circulatory systems. There is numerous scientific evidence demonstrating that sleep disorders, such as insomnia, sleep apnea and restless legs syndrome, are risk factors for obesity, hypertension, diabetes, heart attack, stroke, cancer and dementia. In terms of prevention, the role of sleep and respect for one’s circadian rhythms is therefore increasingly important.
June 20, 2023
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