Sleep Loss Linked To Increase In Alzheimer's Plaques

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090924141742.htm

ScienceDaily (Sep. 25, 2009) — Chronic sleep deprivation in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease makes Alzheimer's brain plaques appear earlier and more often, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report online this week in Science Express.

They also found that orexin, a protein that helps regulate the sleep cycle, appears to be directly involved in the increase.

Neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease often disrupt sleep. The new findings are some of the first indications that sleep loss could play a role in the genesis of such disorders.

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