Sleep Deprivation: What is the Connection to Alzheimer's Disease?
Sleep deprivation is so commonly experienced and observed around the world. It influences and impacts the human brain in multiple distinct ways; some were researched more than others. It also messes up the rhythm of the circadian clock, which controls humans’ sleep-wakefulness cycles. A study showed the impact of one night of sleep deprivation on the risk factor of Alzheimer’s Disease. Specifically, by studying the accumulation of amyloid beta plaques in the cerebellum.
Beta-amyloid plaques are waste products of the metabolic mechanisms and reactions that occur in the brain (Cheng, 2020). Thus, their accumulation indicates a malfunction in the intracellular proteasomal degradation and autophagy systems in the brain (Nedergaard, 2013), which are the systems responsible for breaking down and getting rid of the toxic molecules in the brain, such as beta-amyloid plaques. The degradation systems are influenced by multiple factors: some are inherited while others are environmental and can be controlled by individual decisions day-to-day (Liu, 2019). The work of Shokri-Kojori et al. (2018) explores the impact of sleep deprivation on human brains and its connection to Alzheimer's Disease. The researchers argue that the scientific literature lacks knowledge and evidence about the impact of sleep deprivation on the accumulation of amyloid-beta in the human brain. In order to explore this argument, the researchers used PET scans to show the impact of acute sleep deprivation on amyloid-beta burden. PET technology allows them to measure amyloid-beta burden (ABB) in the living human brain.
Positron emission tomography (PET) has multiple radiotracers which are types of radioactive biochemical substances used for diagnostic purposes. Each PET radiotracer serves a specific purpose. Thus, for this study, the researchers used F florbetaben (FBB) because FBB binds to soluble and insoluble amyloid-beta plaques. Thus, the use of FBB with PET scans allow the scientists to detect amyloid-beta burden (ABB) in the human brain to a great extent and generate the most accurate results.