Lack of sleep may increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease

Young and middle-aged adults who suffer from insomnia and other sleep disorders may be more likely to develop Alzheimer's in later life, research in mice suggests Chronic lack of sleep may promote the development of Alzheimer's disease, two new studies suggest. The findings may have implications for people suffering from insomnia and other sleep disorders. Researchers monitored levels of amyloid beta, a protein fragment known to be linked to Alzheimer's, in the brains of sleep-deprived mice with symptoms of the disease. They found that preventing the mice from sleeping caused a 25% increase in amyloid beta levels. The peptide builds up in the brains of Alzheimer's sufferers to form damaging plaques. Amyloid beta levels were generally higher when mice were active than when they were sleeping, and animals that stayed awake longer had higher amounts of the peptide in their brains. The research will be published tomorrow in...

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