2023-04-21 17:19:26
Accumulation of amyloid beta protein is considered a determining factor in Alzheimer’s disease. As part of a small study, researchers have found a benefit to a sleeping pill: reduce levels of toxic proteins in the central nervous system.
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Sleep quality and Alzheimer’s disease are linked by a vicious cycle: neurodegenerative disease leads to brain changes that disrupt sleep, and poor sleep accelerates harmful brain changes. To prevent cognitive decline, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis wanted to know if drugs for insomnia might break this cycle.
The small preliminary study published in Annals of Neurology included 38 participants of middle age (45 to 65 years) and without cognitive impairment. For their two-night sleep study, the researchers used suvorexant, a sleeping pill already approved by the Food and Drug Administration for insomnia. Participants were given either a low dose (10 mg) of the drug, a high dose (20 mg), or a placebo, before falling asleep in a clinical research unit at the University of Washington.
Effect of suvorexant on toxic proteins
In Alzheimer’s disease, plaques of amyloid beta protein build up in the brain and tau protein can form toxic tangles on neurons. The researchers found that high-dose suvorexant – alone – lowered central nervous system amyloid levels by 10-20% compared to people given the placebo. Additionally, tau protein levels fell 10-15% compared to people who received the placebo.
These results encourage researchers to continue their research, in particular to assess the long-term effects of sleeping pills in older people or those at high risk of dementia.
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