Lack of sleep could be a favorable condition for the onset ofAlzheimer as it prevents the immune cells from braincalls microgliato clean up the amyloid protein deposits which accumulate contribute to neurodegeneration that characterize dementia. This is what an animal study suggests, which will be published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
Research has shown a close correlation between sleep deprivation and decline in cognitive abilities; the suspicion is that sleep loss early in life causes changes that intensify over time and may increase the risk of dementia later in the years.
The correlation between sleep disturbances and the onset of dementia
The study, conducted at Washington University in St. Louis by Samira Parhizkarpointed out how sleep loss affects microglia, the immune cellular garrison that patrols the brain and responds to damages and threats. The experimental phase took place through the study in normal mice and mice genetically modified to produce an excess of amyloid proteinclosely related to the disease Alzheimer.
Compared to well-sleeping rodents, the chronically sleep-deprived transgenic mice had high amounts of toxic beta-amyloid plaques and poorly responsive microglia. Microscopic measurements revealed that sleep loss led to malfunctions in the “mobile scavengers“, lysosomes, which help degrade cellular waste products like microscopic incinerators.
“Studies in humans will be needed to test whether improving the quality of sleep by treating the underlying sleep disorders could reduce microglial reactivity, the long-term risk of amyloid deposition, and the progression to the cognitive impairment observed in the Alzheimer’s disease“, conclude Parhizkar.