{"id":12148,"date":"2022-05-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-03T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=12148"},"modified":"2022-05-11T11:07:34","modified_gmt":"2022-05-11T09:07:34","slug":"sleepiness-in-alzheimers-patients-is-caused-by-damage-to-neurons-that-help-them-stay-awake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/2022\/05\/04\/sleepiness-in-alzheimers-patients-is-caused-by-damage-to-neurons-that-help-them-stay-awake\/","title":{"rendered":"Sleepiness in Alzheimer\u2019s patients is caused by damage to neurons that help them stay awake"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The finding could lead to new treatments for those with the disease to help them stay alert<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Frequent napping during the day is a common symptom of Alzheimer\u2019s and can begin long before any of the memory problems associated with the disease occur. It was widely believed that this was due to patients suffering from periods of disturbed sleep at night and subsequently needing to catch up by taking daytime naps.<\/p>\n\n

Now, researchers based at the University of California, San Francisco, have discovered that the lethargy and sleepiness experienced by Alzheimer\u2019s patients is due to damage to the neurons found in brain areas that promote wakefulness, namely the locus coeruleus, the lateral hypothalamic area and the tuberomammillary nucleus. This damage is caused by the accumulation of tau proteins \u2013 small molecules that usually help to stabilise the structure of neurons but break free and clump together in the brains of those with Alzheimer\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n

\"\"
In this image, taken by an electron microscope, the pink region in the centre is an amyloid plaque in the brain of an Alzheimer\u2019s patient<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

The team made the discovery after studying data taken from patients at the university\u2019s Memory and Aging Center, who volunteered to have their sleep monitored with an electroencephalogram (EEG) and donated their brains to be used for research after they died.<\/p>\n\n

The brains of 33 patients with Alzheimer\u2019s were compared to 20 who had progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), a neurodegenerative condition that leaves patients unable to sleep.<\/p>\n\n

They found that neurons in the three brain areas are responsible for producing neurotransmitters. In Alzheimer\u2019s patients, these neurotransmitters then inhibit other nerve cells, leading to feelings of sleepiness. In PSP patients, they excite them, causing wakefulness.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cYou can think of this system as a switch with wake-promoting neurons and sleep-promoting neurons, each tied to neurons controlling circadian rhythms,\u201d said Joseph Oh, a medical student and one of the lead authors. \u201cWith this postmortem tissue, we\u2019ve been able to confirm that this switch, which is known to exist in model animals, also exists in humans and governs our sleep and awake cycles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

The finding could lead to treatments that bump up the \u2018awake system\u2019 in Alzheimer\u2019s patients.<\/p>\n\n

IMAGE: SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The finding could lead to new treatments for those with the disease to help them stay alert Frequent napping during the day is a common symptom of Alzheimer\u2019s and can begin long before any of the memory problems associated with the disease occur. It was widely believed that this was due to patients suffering from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":12147,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ub_ctt_via":"","purple_page_number":"18","purple_custom_meta_purple_page_number":"18","purple_seq_number":"1","purple_custom_meta_purple_seq_number":"1","purple_source_article":"article_18-1.xml","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_article":"article_18-1.xml","purple_source_issue":"May-2022","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_issue":"May-2022","purple_external_id":"May-2022-18-1","purple_custom_meta_purple_external_id":"May-2022-18-1","purple_issue_code":"|0000089653||","purple_custom_meta_purple_issue_code":"|0000089653||","purple_android_product":"com.focus.magazine.issue377","purple_custom_meta_purple_android_product":"com.focus.magazine.issue377","purple_ios_product":"com.focus.magazine.issue377","purple_custom_meta_purple_ios_product":"com.focus.magazine.issue377","purple_web_product":"","purple_custom_meta_purple_web_product":"","purple_publication_id":"0f422ad1-c939-476d-9f82-a410052ad4c3","purple_migrated":"","kt_blocks_editor_width":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2022-05-10T12:29:44Z","apple_news_article-theme":"","apple_news_api_id":"48f37014-b0d6-48c0-bd62-5b78f464a8f8","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2022-05-11T09:07:38Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABA==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/ASPNwFLDWSMC9Ylt49GSo-A","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":true,"apple_news_is_preview":true,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_article_theme":"","apple_news_sections":"[]"},"categories":[25],"tags":[15],"apple_news_notices":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2022\/05\/d6f319cf-7bb4-453a-8ecf-9c40daac89d5.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"2","apple_news_title":""},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2022\/05\/d6f319cf-7bb4-453a-8ecf-9c40daac89d5.jpg",1920,1164,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2022\/05\/d6f319cf-7bb4-453a-8ecf-9c40daac89d5-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2022\/05\/d6f319cf-7bb4-453a-8ecf-9c40daac89d5-300x182.jpg",300,182,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2022\/05\/d6f319cf-7bb4-453a-8ecf-9c40daac89d5-768x466.jpg",768,466,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2022\/05\/d6f319cf-7bb4-453a-8ecf-9c40daac89d5-1024x621.jpg",800,485,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2022\/05\/d6f319cf-7bb4-453a-8ecf-9c40daac89d5-1536x931.jpg",1536,931,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2022\/05\/d6f319cf-7bb4-453a-8ecf-9c40daac89d5.jpg",1920,1164,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"The finding could lead to new treatments for those with the disease to help them stay alert Frequent napping during the day is a common symptom of Alzheimer\u2019s and can begin long before any of the memory problems associated with the disease occur. 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