Another Reason to Get More Sleep

Health Editor’s Note: Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive disease of the brain that affects memory, language, perceptions, planning, and reasoning and is the most common cause for dementia. Aging and having someone in your family diagnosed with Alzheimer’s are risk factors.  Sadly, neither of these risk factors can be avoided.  Statistics show that this disease may affect about 50% of people over the age of 85.

Much research demonstrates that an accumulation of a metabolic waste product, the protein (beta-amyloid) in the brain leads to nerve cell death. Your brain is nothing but nerve cells. What has been found, is that in someone with Alzheimer’s disease, the beta-amyloid proteins will clump together and this decreases the ability of the neurons to communicate with each other.  Nerve cells (neurons) in the brain do nothing but communicate with each other…that is how you can remember what you had for breakfast, your mother’s name, etc. 

As you age it is not inevitable that you will develop Alzheimer’s but as we live longer, it is more likely that people will develop this insidious disease.  What is known is that as you sleep, your brain clears away the beta-amyloid proteins. So, if for no other reason, try to make sure to get enough sleep every night so you can keep your brain as healthy as possible.  Your brain is your friend…well actually, your brain is you……Carol  

Lack of sleep may be linked to risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease

Preliminary NIH study shows increased levels of beta-amyloid.

Brain imaging after one night of sleep deprivation revealed beta-amyloid accumulation in the hippocampus and thalamus, regions affected by Alzheimer’s disease; Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Losing just one night of sleep led to an immediate increase in beta-amyloid, a protein in the brain associated with Alzheimer’s disease, according to a small, new study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health. In Alzheimer’s disease, beta-amyloid proteins clump together to form amyloid plaques, a hallmark of the disease.

While acute sleep deprivation is known to elevate brain beta-amyloid levels in mice, less is known about the impact of sleep deprivation on beta-amyloid accumulation in the human brain. The study is among the first to demonstrate that sleep may play an important role in human beta-amyloid clearance.

“This research provides new insight about the potentially harmful effects of a lack of sleep on the brain and has implications for better characterizing the pathology of Alzheimer’s disease,” said George F. Koob, Ph.D., director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health, which funded the study.

Beta-amyloid is a metabolic waste product present in the fluid between brain cells. In Alzheimer’s disease, beta-amyloid clumps together to form amyloid plaques, negatively impacting communication between neurons.

Led by Drs. Ehsan Shokri-Kojori and Nora D. Volkow of the NIAAA Laboratory of Neuroimaging, the study is now online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Volkow is also the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse at NIH.

To understand the possible link between beta-amyloid accumulation and sleep, the researchers used positron emission tomography (PET) to scan the brains of 20 healthy subjects, ranging in age from 22 to 72, after a night of rested sleep and after sleep deprivation (being awake for about 31 hours). They found beta-amyloid increases of about 5 percent after losing a night of sleep in brain regions including

the thalamus and hippocampus, regions especially vulnerable to damage in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

In Alzheimer’s disease, beta-amyloid is estimated to increase about 43 percent in affected individuals relative to healthy older adults. It is unknown whether the increase in beta-amyloid in the study participants would subside after a night of rest.

The researchers also found that study participants with larger increases in beta-amyloid reported worse mood after sleep deprivation.

“Even though our sample was small, this study demonstrated the negative effect of sleep deprivation on beta-amyloid burden in the human brain. Future studies are needed to assess the generalizability to a larger and more diverse population,” said Dr. Shokri-Kojori.

It is also important to note that the link between sleep disorders and Alzheimer’s risk is considered by many scientists to be “bidirectional,” since elevated beta-amyloid may also lead to sleep disturbances.

Reference

Shokri-Kojori E, et al. (2018).  β-Amyloid accumulation in the human brain after one night of sleep deprivation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2018/03/29/1721694115.

Carol Duff, MSN, BA, RN

Carol graduated from Riverside White Cross School of Nursing in Columbus, Ohio and received her diploma as a registered nurse. She attended Bowling Green State University where she received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and Literature. She attended the University of Toledo, College of Nursing, and received a Master’s of Nursing Science Degree as an Educator.

She has traveled extensively, is a photographer, and writes on medical issues. Carol has three children RJ, Katherine, and Stephen – one daughter-in-law; Katie – two granddaughters; Isabella Marianna and Zoe Olivia – and one grandson, Alexander Paul. She also shares her life with her husband Gordon Duff, many cats, and two rescues.

• Carol’s Archives 2009-2013