According to a study published in the scientific journal Plos Genetics on Thursday (10), poor sleep can contribute to the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s. The researchers point out that patients with the disease may experience sleep disturbances years earlier, and suggest good sleep habits as a method of prevention.
According to the study, our biological clock controls the brain’s ability to absorb proteins linked to Alzheimer’s, so the interruption of this cycle may be related to the cause of the disease, so that sleep disturbances represent an early warning sign.
The article mentions that the immune cells are in charge of finding and destroying the harmful proteins that threaten to accumulate in the brain, mainly beta-amyloid, previously associated with the disease. Maintaining consistent habits results in a regular protein cleanse. When this rhythm is disrupted, the cleaning routine falters, making room for these proteins.
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This relationship is quite complex: while the interruption of the biological clock allows beta-amyloid to accumulate, this accumulation ends up damaging the brain cells responsible for commanding the biological clock, gathering even more beta-amyloid proteins. More studies are needed to fully understand where this relationship begins and ends.
In any case, the group of scientists points out that stimulating the brain’s ability to eliminate beta-amyloid — with interventions with therapies aimed at increasing the activity of immune cells — could be a first step towards mitigating the symptoms of Alzheimer’s.
