Sleep could help identify people at risk of developing Alzheimer's disease at an earlier stage
What if certain signs of the disease were to manifest subtly during sleep, long before the first memory problems appear? This is the line of inquiry being explored by a team of researchers at ULiège.
Researchers at the University of Liège have found potential early indicators of Alzheimer's disease through sleep patterns. By examining over 500 healthy individuals, particularly middle-aged and older adults, they discovered a link between increased nocturnal micro-awakenings and a higher genetic risk of developing Alzheimer's.
However, this connection was not observed in younger adults. The study, published in the journal Sleep, suggests that sleep disorders may contribute to the early identification of vulnerable individuals before any clinical symptoms appear. The researchers also explored the role of the locus coeruleus, a crucial brain region involved in wakefulness and sleep regulation.
Early findings indicate that sleep quality and the proper functioning of the locus coeruleus may be linked to the disease's early mechanisms, potentially paving the way for sleep analysis as a new tool for early risk identification and prevention strategies.
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