Sleep deprivation increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease

Some recent studies show that people with sleeplessness at a young age are more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease when they are older than normal people.

Recent research shows that chronic insomnia is one of the main causes of Alzheimer's disease. This has attracted the attention of many people, especially those suffering from insomnia.

Researchers have documented an increase or decrease in amyloid beta, a protein related to Alzheimer's disease, in the brains of white mice.

By preventing these mice from sleeping, they found a 25% increase in the amount of amyloid beta in their brains. Amyloid beta is a type of protein, which can produce harmful proteins to the brain of Alzheimer's patients.

Insomnia increases the amount of amyloid beta in the brain. This protein is one of the causes of Alzheimer's disease. (Photo: Getty)

The team thinks that amyloid beta levels increase when animals wake and decrease when they go to sleep. This result will be announced tomorrow in the Science Times.

Earlier, the newspaper also published another similar study on humans. Experimental results on volunteers showed that the amount of amyloid beta in the brain increased as they awoke and decreased when they slept; like a rat.

Professor David Holtzman of Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis, USA, said: ' Research results show that we need to prioritize the treatment of insomnia, not only because of immediate harms. it's for patients, but also for potential risks that affect the brain later . '

Scientists also found a link between Alzheimer's disease and orexin, another protein that affects sleep . When orexin is injected into the brain of the mouse, the animal sleeps less than usual and therefore the amount of amyloid beta in their brains also increases. And after three weeks of continuous sleeplessness, the first amyloid patches appear in the brain.

To prevent this, they use a drug that blocks the effects of orexin and helps to sleep. The results showed that, after three months of taking the drug, the amount of beta amyloid in the brain decreased by 80%.

" This treatment will soon be tested on humans and could become the most effective way to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease, " Professor Holtzman said.

He also pointed out that the risk of Alzheimer's disease is increasing and begins to appear in young people due to nighttime habits and inadequate living.

Other studies also agree that staying up late and lack of sleep when children will increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease when they get older.

Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia, with an estimated 700,000 Britons now suffering from the disease. Experts predict this number could double in the next few decades.

" This is just the first study to say that insomnia is the cause of Alzheimer's disease, and moreover, it is just a matter of experimenting with white mice ," said Alzheimer's Research Executive Director . Therefore, people who are suffering from insomnia should not be too worried about these findings.

Today, 35 million people in the world suffer from dementia, I think we need to focus on research to find out the cause of this disease to have the most effective treatments .

Professor Clive Ballard, director of the Alzheimer's Patient Community Organization in the UK, said: ' It is interesting to note that the possibility of Alzheimer's disease is caused by insomnia. However, many other biological factors affect the increase in the amount of amyloid beta in the brain. Therefore, we still need to do more research to clarify this . '