Murray leads British charge to last eight
SIR Andy Murray and Johanna Konta have sailed through to Wimbledon’s quarter-finals, marking the first time a British man and woman have reached the last eight in more than 40 years.
Murray shook his fist in the air after beating Frenchman Benoit Paire 7-6
6-4 6-4 in two hours, 21 minutes on Centre Court. Konta fell to the ground and put her head in her hands after winning her fourth-round match against France’s Caroline Garcia 7-6 4-6 6-4.
Roger Taylor and Virginia Wade were the last British man and woman to make it through to the final eight in 1973.
Next up for Murray is American Sam Querrey. However, one major obstacle to him defending his title was removed last night when potential semi-final opponent Rafael Nadal was beaten 15-13 in an epic fifth set by Gilles Muller of Luxembourg. ONE night of disturbed sleep increases levels of a brain protein linked to Alzheimer’s disease, research has shown.
A week of tossing and turning boosts another molecule implicated in the destruction of brain cells, the same study found.
Increasing evidence suggests an association between poor sleep and a greater risk of cognitive impairment or dementia.
The new findings published in the journal Brain show just one bad night can affect a key signature of Alzheimer’s in the brain.
Lead scientist Professor David Holtzman, from Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, US, said: “We showed that poor sleep is associated with higher levels of two Alzheimer’s-associated proteins. We think that perhaps chronic poor sleep during middle age may increase the risk of Alzheimer’s later in life.”
Brains of Alzheimer’s patients are clogged with accumulated deposits of a toxic protein called beta-amyloid. In addition, their neurons contain “tau tangles” – twisted knots of tau protein that disrupt nutrient transport within the cells and eventually kill them.
Experts believe both abnormalities contribute to Alzheimer’s disease and may be linked. One theory suggests beta-amyloid acts as the “trigger” and tau as the “bullet” in a process that leads to the death of neurons.
Professor Holtzman’s team looked at 17 healthy adults aged 35 to 65 with no history of chronic sleep problems or mental impairments.
The volunteers agreed to spend a night in a specially designed, soundproofed sleep room, while wearing headphones as their brain waves were monitored via electrodes attached to the scalp.
Half the participants were randomly assigned to have their slumber disrupted by beeps in their ears once their brain activity showed them to be in a deep dreamless phase of “slowwave” sleep.
About a month later the process was repeated, but this time the two groups were reversed so participants who previously had an undisturbed night were subjected to the beeps.