A good night's sleep may help prevent Alzheimer's disease, concluded researchers in a study published online April 9 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Using PET, the group detected increased levels of beta amyloid in sleep-deprived subjects.
Ehsan Shokri-Kojori, PhD, a research fellow at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), led a team that measured beta-amyloid burden, a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. The group studied 20 healthy subjects between 22 and 72 years of age after one night of rested sleep and one night of sleep deprivation.
PET images revealed a significant increase in beta amyloid in the right hippocampus and thalamus after a sleepless night, compared with levels after rested sleep. The two brain regions are linked to the development of Alzheimer's disease.
The sleep deprivation-related increases in beta amyloid were also associated with worse mood, tiredness, and difficulty staying awake, according to the researchers.
