Sleepless nights may raise risk of dementia
SLEEPLESS nights don’t just affect your memory the next day. They could raise your odds of developing Alzheimer’s.
Researchers believe that poor sleep allows a memory-robbing protein to build up inside the brain.
In turn, higher levels of this betaamyloid protein then disrupt sleep – leading to a vicious circle that could led to Alzheimer’s disease.
If the link is as important as believed, sleep therapies could help delay the onset of the disease, as well as slow its progression in those who already have it.
‘This discovery offers hope,’ said the Californian researchers.
‘Sleep could be a novel therapeutic target for fighting back against memory impairment in older adults and even in those with dementia.’ Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia affect more than 800,000 Britons.
Worldwide, the number is predicted to treble to 44million by 2050 as the population ages.
With existing drugs of limited use and the search for a cure ending in disappointment time and time again, some doctors argue that changes to diet and lifestyle offer the best chance of staving off the disease.
The latest Californian study looked at the relationship between betaamyloid, quality of sleep and the ability to memorise facts.
Twenty- six healthy men and women in their 60s, 70s and early 80s were given brain scans to measure the amount of beta-amyloid in their brains.
They were then asked to memorise 120 pairs of words and tested on them after eight hours’ sleep. Brain scans showed that those with the most amyloid in their brain had the poorest quality sleep, defined by lack of the non-REM sleep – the deep dreamless slumber needed for memory storage.
These men and women also did worst on the memory test, the journal Nature Neuroscience reports.
With previous research showing deep sleep to ‘power cleanse’ betaamyloid from the brain, the researchers believe lack of sleep to be part of a vicious circle in which memory gets worse and worse.
University of California, Berkeley, researcher Matthew Walker said: ‘The more beta-amyloid you have in certain parts of your brain, the less deep sleep you get and, so, 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.’
Bryce Mander, the study’s lead author said: ‘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.’
Writing in the journal Nature Neuroscience, the researchers said they will study whether it is the lack of sleep or the build-up of betaamyloid that kick-starts the whole process.
Dr Ian Le Guillou, of the Alzheimer’s Society, said: ‘We need more research in bigger groups to better understand whether poor sleep contributes to the development of memory problems and could be a target for future treatments.
‘People who have a bad night’s sleep shouldn’t be worried that it is a sign of developing memory problems, but we do know that regularly getting enough sleep can help keep the brain healthy.’
‘Keep your brain healthy’