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February 15th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda TUESDAY, Feb. 14 (HealthDay News) — Poor-quality sleep may have
worse effects than simple fatigue: A preliminary new study suggests it’s
linked to the buildup of brain plaques seen in people with Alzheimer’s
disease.
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
monitored the sleep patterns of 100 mentally healthy people between the
ages of 45 and 80 — half of whom had a family history of Alzheimer’s
disease — and found that those who awakened more than five times an hour
were more likely to have amyloid plaque accumulations than those with
fewer sleep disturbances.
Amyloid protein plaques are a trait of Alzheimer’s, a condition
affecting at least 5.4 million Americans that robs patients of memory and
reasoning skills. These characteristics, detectable with brain scans and
spinal fluid tests, can appear years before Alzheimer’s symptoms
begin.
“We were initially looking at duration of sleep, but it seems the
quality of sleep is more important to this association,” said study author
Dr. Yo-El Ju, an assistant professor of neurology. “We don’t know if early
Alzheimer’s is causing poor sleep, or vice-versa.
“It’s possible that there’s some change in brain activity going on
during sleep that allows soluble amyloid to decrease overnight,” Ju added,
“but we need to study this much more closely.”
Preliminary results from the study were released Feb. 14 in advance of
their presentation at the American Academy of Neurology‘s annual meeting
in April in New Orleans.
For two weeks, study participants wore a device on their wrists that
determined whether they were awake or asleep depending on body movements.
They also filled out sleep diaries and questionnaires, and underwent brain
imaging and spinal fluid tests.
Testing showed that 25 percent had preclinical indicators for
Alzheimer’s disease, and researchers found that those who slept “less
efficiently” were more likely to have the indicators for early-stage
Alzheimer’s than those with uninterrupted sleep. While the average time
spent in bed was about eight hours, the average sleep time was 6.5 hours
because of brief awakenings in the night. Those who spent less than 85
percent of their time in bed actually sleeping were more likely to have
Alzheimer’s traits, or biomarkers.
Because the study, which should be completed in several months, is
still under way, Ju said it isn’t yet known whether participants with a
family history of Alzheimer’s are more likely to suffer from disturbed
sleep or show biological indicators of the condition.
“Results are very promising, but it’s very important to follow the
people who don’t have any type of early Alzheimer’s because that’s the
only way we’ll know what comes first,” disturbed sleep or Alzheimer’s
biomarkers, she said. Because while the study uncovered an association
between poor sleep and plaque formation, it did not prove a
cause-and-effect relationship.
Dr. Daniel Potts, a partner at Alabama Neurology and Sleep Medicine in
Tuscaloosa, said he suspects that chronic poor-quality sleep will
eventually be proven to contribute to amyloid plaque formation.
If that cause-effect relationship is established, scientists may be
able to “tailor an intervention” to improve sleep for those affected,
Potts said.
“That’s my hunch. It makes sense to me,” said Potts, also a
spokesperson for the American Academy of Neurology. “The best possible
thing we could get out of this would be that we could do something about
it. But there’s not enough data to step out and say [for certain] at this
point.”
Research presented at medical meetings should be considered preliminary
until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.
More information
The Alzheimer’s Association has more information about amyloid
protein plaques.
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