A recent study investigated the relationship between sleep patterns and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) by examining 128 adults with varying cognitive conditions at a Chinese tertiary hospital. The researchers conducted overnight sleep studies alongside advanced brain imaging and analysis of key blood biomarkers, focusing particularly on the role of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.
Their findings revealed that participants who took longer to enter REM sleep showed higher levels of amyloid beta accumulation, increased phosphorylated tau protein, and reduced brain-derived neurotrophic factor, even after accounting for various demographic and health factors. Overall, the results suggest that the time it takes to enter REM sleep could serve as a potential marker for Alzheimer’s disease risk, though, notably, deep sleep patterns showed no significant correlation with AD biomarkers. This research indicates a promising avenue for future intervention studies to determine whether modifying REM sleep patterns could influence Alzheimer’s disease development.
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