Poor sleep linked to Alzheimer’s-like brain changes

Posted under Blog on October 30th, 2013 by Editorial Team / No Comments

Poor sleep quality may have an impact on Alzheimer’s disease onset, according to a new study led by researchers at The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

For this study, which is reported in the October 2013 issue of JAMA Neurology, the research team looked at self-reported sleep survey results and examined brain scans of adults with an average age of 76 to find a link between poor sleep and brain plaque proteins. Researchers found that those who said they slept less or poorly had increased build-up of beta-amyloid plaques, one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s. None of those in the study had been diagnosed with the disease.

"These findings are important in part because sleep disturbances can be treated in older people," said Adam Spira, lead author of the study and a professor with the School of Public Health's Department of Mental Health. "To the degree that poor sleep promotes the development of Alzheimer's disease, treatments for poor sleep or efforts to maintain healthy sleep patterns may help prevent or slow the progression of Alzheimer disease."

He went on to caution that the findings do not demonstrate a causal link between poor sleep and Alzheimer's disease, and that further studies are needed to further examine whether poor sleep contributes to or accelerates Alzheimer's disease.

Tags: Alzheimer's, fatigue, Johns Hopkins, sleep deprivation

 

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