Poor Sleep Promotes Development of Alzheimer’s Disease

A new study done at the University of California at Berkeley provides more evidence that as previously suspected, poor sleep is associated with the development of Alzheimer’s Disease. Deposits of a toxic protein called beta-amyloid has long been thought to be causative of the death of brain cells leading to Alzheimer’s disease. When a person lacks deep restorative sleep the build up of this toxic protein is promoted. The National Institutes of Health provided the grant to conduct this study, testing  the hypothesis that poor sleep is a true risk factor for the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

Neuroscience professor Matthew Walker, lead author of the study says, “Our findings reveal a new pathway through which Alzheimer’s disease may cause memory decline later in life. This discovery offers hope. Sleep could be a novel therapeutic target for fighting back against memory impairment in older adults and even those with dementia.”

William Jagust, a recognized expert on Alzheimer’s disease explains, “Over the past few years the links between sleep, beta-amyloid, memory, and Alzheimer’s disease have been growing stronger. Our study shows that this beta-amyloid deposition may lead to a vicious cycle in which sleep is further disturbed and memory impaired. The data we’ve collected are very suggestive that there’s a causal link. If we intervene to improve sleep, perhaps we can break that causal chain.”

The study used 26 subjects between 65 and 81 years old who have not been diagnosed with dementia or any other neurodegenerative disorder.  Positron emission tomography (PET) scans were used  to measure the accumulation of beta-amyloid in the brain. They also employed  Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)  to measure activity in the brain during memory tasks which they measured. The subjects were asked to review 120 word pairs and then their memory for what they studied was scored.

The researchers discuss a mechanism by which the damage of poor sleep occurs.  Dr Walker says, “Sleep is helping wash away toxic proteins at night, preventing them from building up and from potentially destroying brain cells. It’s providing a power cleanse for the brain.The more beta-amyloid you have in certain parts of your brain, the less deep sleep you get and, consequently, the worse your memory. Additionally, the less deep sleep you have, the less effective you are at clearing out this bad protein. It’s a vicious cycle.”

The study is being published in the June edition of the journal Nature Neuroscience.

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