Identifying sleep disorders could be effective in preventing Alzheimer’s disease.
Nocturnal awakenings, hypersomnia… Alzheimer’s disease upsets the sleep of those who have it. But even before the first symptoms, cloudy nights could be a warning sign.
This is what the University of Wisconsin in Madison (United States) suggests. His study, published in Neurology, shows a link between sleep disorders and biomarkers of neurodegenerative disease.
For the sake of this study, the researchers recruited 101 people who were healthy but at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. They carried a gene promoting the pathology, or cases had been reported in their families.
These volunteers filled out questionnaires on the quality of their sleep. At the same time, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples were taken.
Chronic diseases excluded
This biological fluid is precious because it makes it possible to detect markers of Alzheimer’s disease. When clumps of beta-amyloid or tau proteins appear in the brain, these same proteins are found in the CSF. Their concentration makes it possible to assess the stage of the pathology.
In fact, participants who suffer from sleep disorders present these biomarkers more often and in greater quantities, compared to those whose nights are peaceful.
The concentrations of beta-amyloid and tau proteins are higher. Cerebrospinal fluid also harbors more signs of brain cell damage and inflammation.
But some exceptions should be noted. For example, volunteers with sleep apnea are no more at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease than the general population. The main author of this study also explains that researchers do not yet know which disorder precedes the other.
“We do not yet know precisely if sleep affects the development of the disease, or if the disease affects the quality of sleep”, recognizes Barbara Bendlin. But to the extent that effective treatments exist to improve the quality of nights, managing them can be beneficial.
Savings in perspective
The American team still has some assumptions about this link. “Previous studies have shown that sleep can influence the development or course of Alzheimer’s disease in several ways,” explains Barbara Bendlin.
For example, a sleep disorder or lack of it can cause amyloid plaques to build up because the brain’s cleaning system is activated during sleep. It remains to be seen whether finding Morpheus’ arms with confidence will be effective in delaying the onset of the first symptoms. If so, this approach could prove to be promising.
According to estimates in the United States, postponing the onset of the disease by 5 years would reduce the number of cases by 5.7 million… and lead to savings of $ 367 million.
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