- About 32 million people around the world have Alzheimer’s disease.
- Most scientists believe Alzheimer’s disease is caused by a buildup of amyloid and tau proteins in the brain.
- Researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found people in a small study who took an insomnia medication experienced a drop in both Alzheimer’s-related proteins.
The buildup of
Now researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO have found in a small study that people who took the insomnia medication suvorexant experienced a drop in both Alzheimer’s-related proteins.
The study was recently published in the journal
Beta-amyloid forms when a larger protein found in
Beta-amyloid is known to be chemically “stickier” than other parts of APP, causing the beta-amyloid fragments to clump together. This forms
Tau protein is also found in neurons. When a person has Alzheimer’s disease, the tau proteins can act abnormally, causing them to stick to each other.
This causes what is known as
Medical News Today spoke with Dr. Brendan Lucey, an associate professor of neurology and director of the Sleep Medicine Center at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and first author of this study.
Dr. Lucey said sleep and Alzheimer’s disease are hypothesized to have a bi-directional relationship:
“Sleep disturbances are a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease and the changes in the brain associated with Alzheimer’s disease are associated with…
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