Suffering From Alzheimer's? Sleep Apnea May Be the Cause
Relationship between poor sleep and Alzheimer's
Alzheimer’s is a neurodegenerative disease that is the leading cause of dementia. Apart from dementia, it also causes neuropsychiatric disorders. Once a person is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, the prognosis, in most cases, is not encouraging, and it undoubtedly results in a reduction of lifespan. Alzheimer’s is caused due to the misfolding of proteins in the brain cells (neurons), which is thought to be caused by the abnormal accumulation of so-called amyloid beta protein and tau protein. This will eventually lead to the death of brain cells.
What causes the accumulation of amyloid and tau protein has remained a mystery. Genetic predisposition is undoubtedly a risk factor, but now there is growing evidence that poor sleep quality could also be one of the contributing factors.