Insomnia Treatment Linked to Prevention of Brain Damage in Alzheimer's Patients
Sleep Disorders: A Silent Global Crisis
Approximately 70 million people globally grapple with sleep disorders, such as insomnia or sleep apnea. These conditions, if ignored, can have detrimental effects on an individual's health and well-being.
Lack of adequate sleep can impair cognitive function, brain health, and mental health, making it harder to concentrate and affect overall mood. Moreover, sleep disorders have been linked to several health conditions, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, gastrointestinal issues, and neurological disorders like Alzheimer's disease.
David M. Holtzman, MD, the Barbara Burton and Reuben M. Morriss III Distinguished Professor of Neurology at the Washington University School of Medicine, explains that sleep disorders often appear years before other symptoms of dementia become apparent. Research has shown that disrupted sleep elevates levels of two key signs of Alzheimer's disease - beta-amyloid and tau proteins.
A recent study, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, focused on a sleep disorder medication called lemborexant (Dayvigo). Lemborexant, a dual orexin receptor antagonist, works by blocking orexin - a protein in the brain that keeps us awake and alert. By blocking the orexin signaling, the medication helps to improve sleep quality and facilitate restful sleep.
For the study, scientists used lemborexant to treat a model of mice that were genetically prone to having tau buildup in the brain. In healthy brains, tau protein acts as a support structure for cells and aids in nutrient and signal transportation. In Alzheimer's disease, abnormal tau loses its shape, integrity, and functionality, leading to tau tangles that cause nerve cell death and contribute to memory loss and other cognitive symptoms.
Researchers found that treating the mice with lemborexant helped prevent tau buildup in the brain, reducing the inflammatory brain damage that tau buildup is known to cause in Alzheimer's disease. The study also revealed that mice treated with the sleep aid had a 30-40% larger hippocampus volume compared to those not treated with the medication, indicating reduced brain damage and cellular loss in mice treated with lemborexant compared to those given a placebo.
Gary Small, MD, chair of psychiatry at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey, comments that the findings from this new study are consistent with previous research linking restful sleep with better cognitive health. These findings suggest that interventions for improving sleep quality may contribute to improving focus, reduces memory complaints, and could potentially combat Alzheimer's disease and chronic insomnia.
However, Small cautions that these findings in animal models must be supported by clinical trials with human volunteers to determine the safety and effectiveness of this potential treatment.
Lemborexant's Role in Tau and Inflammation:
- Prevention of Tau Clumping: Lemborexant prevents excessive chemical tags from being added to tau, which can lead to tau clumping.
- Reduction in Tau Accumulation: The drug reduces the accumulation of the abnormal tau protein in the brain.
- Inflammation Reduction: By preventing tau clumping, lemborexant reduces the inflammatory brain damage associated with Alzheimer's disease.
- Preservation of Brain Structure: In male mice, lemborexant-treated animals showed a significant increase in hippocampal volume compared to untreated controls, indicating structural preservation and potentially better cognitive function.
Overall, lemborexant's role in blocking orexin receptors and its impact on tau and inflammation suggest it may have neuroprotective effects that could be beneficial in treating neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's disease. However, more research is required to fully understand its potential as a treatment for these conditions.
- The study focused on a sleep disorder medication called lemborexant (Dayvigo) that works by blocking orexin receptors, a protein in the brain that keeps us awake and alert, to improve sleep quality and facilitate restful sleep.
- By blocking orexin signaling, lemborexant helps prevent tau buildup in the brain, reducing the inflammatory brain damage that tau buildup is known to cause in Alzheimer's disease.
- Researchers found that treating mice with lemborexant helped prevent tau clumping, reduce the accumulation of the abnormal tau protein in the brain, and preserve brain structure, potentially leading to better cognitive function.
- The findings from this new study suggest that improvements in sleep quality, such as those provided by lemborexant, could contribute to improving focus, reducing memory complaints, and potentially combat conditions like Alzheimer's disease and chronic insomnia.
- However, more research is required to fully understand the potential of lemborexant as a treatment for neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's disease and to determine its safety and effectiveness in human participants.
