Sleep disorders and Alzheimer's disease
Sleep disorders and Alzheimer's disease
A new American study links the sleep disorders with Alzheimer’s disease. In particular, non-Rapid Eye Movement people have elevated levels of toxic protein in their brains, which is an early indication of the disease.
Bad sleep is a symptom of Alzheimer’s disease. Patients still tend to wake up tired without being refreshed during the night. The new study suggests an explanation for this, as it found that the elderly who have fewer waves in the brain (who are in the deepest stage of sleep and help in memory) accumulate the toxic protein tau but also the toxic beta amyloid protein. Increased levels of these pathological proteins have been associated with brain damage and cognitive impairment.
Researchers, headed by adjunct neurologist Professor Brendan Lousy of the University of Washington Medical School who published the study in the American Medical Journal "Science Translational Medicine", studied 119 people over the age of 60, of whom 80 were cognitively healthy, while others had mild cognitive problems.
Professor Dr. Luci notes that the question is not how much sleep, but the quality of his sleep. In particular, it states that: "People with increased tau protein pathology actually sleep more at night and also take their nap one day but do not have good quality sleep.
If future research supports this conclusion further, monitoring a person's sleep quality can be an easy, inexpensive and valid way for early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.
Naturally, sleep monitoring is not expected to replace brain imaging or cerebrospinal fluid analysis, according to the researchers, but it may work complementarily to identify early signs of the disease.
"It's something that can easily be monitored over time, and if one's sleep patterns change, then that may be a sign for doctors that they should look more for this person's brain," Lucy said.
Aggeliki Koskeridou
Holistic Doctor – Counseling Psychotherapist
Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine
MSc c. Health Psychology