Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Sleep Deprivation Linked to Alzheimer's Related Symptoms

The medical community has long understood the benefits of having a good night's sleep. Lack of sleep can lead to erratic weight management, depression, and can weaken your nervous system. Now, sleep deprivation was also associated with an increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.
During a recent study of Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, the researchers studied a group of mice had been bred to develop dementia. They noted that mice which had received hormone to promote wakefulness has developed a beta version of 25% higher than the level of amyloid group of control mice that maintained a normal pattern of sleep. Beta amyloid, a protein that increases the production during the waking hours, aggregated together and produced layers of plaque in the brains of rats deprived of sleep. This is the same type of plaque found on the brains of patients with Alzheimer's. These plaques kill neurons of the brain important and can lead to memory loss.

It seems that the more we learn about Alzheimer's and more we learn about what causes it, the best tactic you can do to combat the onset of the disease is simply terrible to maintain a healthy lifestyle. This includes the right to eat, exercise often and sleep properly.

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