Don’t cheat sleep
Sleep has been proven to boost grades and happiness. So why do college students deprive themselves of sleep when they need it most? Washington University in St. Louis experts have researched that question and, in response, have launched a new sleep campaign.
Extra sleep fixes memory problems in flies with Alzheimer’s-like condition
Many studies have linked more sleep to better memory,
but new research in fruit flies at Washington University School of
Medicine in St. Louis demonstrates that extra sleep helps the brain
overcome catastrophic neurological defects that otherwise would block
memory formation.
Protein that rouses the brain from sleep may be target for Alzheimer’s prevention
A protein that stimulates the brain to awaken from
sleep may be a target for preventing Alzheimer’s disease, a study by School of Medicine researchers suggests. David M. Holtzman, MD, head of the Department of Neurology, is the study’s senior author.
Broken cellular ‘clock’ linked to brain damage
A new discovery may help explain the surprisingly strong connections between sleep problems and neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease. Loss of a gene that helps keep track of time makes brain cells more vulnerable to damage from dangerous compounds known as free radicals.
Unusual comparison nets new sleep loss marker
Paul Shaw, PhD, a researcher at the School of Medicine, has used what he learns in fruit flies to look for markers of sleep loss in humans. But now he has reversed the process in a new paper, taking what he finds in humans back to the flies and identifying a human gene that is more active after sleep deprivation.
Sleep loss precedes Alzheimer’s symptoms
Sleep is disrupted in people who likely have early
Alzheimer’s disease but do not yet have the memory loss or other
cognitive problems characteristic of full-blown disease, researchers at
the School of Medicine report. Shown is first author of the study, Yo-El Ju, MD, an assistant professor of neurology.
Study in mice suggests sleep problems may be early sign of Alzheimer’s
Sleep disruptions may be among the earliest indicators
of the start of Alzheimer’s disease, scientists at Washington University
School of Medicine in St. Louis report this week in Science
Translational Medicine. David M. Holtzman, MD, the Andrew B. and Gretchen P. Jones Professor and
head of the Department of Neurology, is the study’s author.
Marker for Alzheimer’s disease rises during day, falls with sleep
A marker for Alzheimer’s disease rises and falls in the spinal fluid in a daily pattern that echoes the sleep cycle, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found. The pattern is strongest in healthy young people and reinforces a link between increased Alzheimer’s risk and inadequate sleep that had been discovered in animal models.
Sleep switch found in fruit flies
Rather than count sheep, drink warm milk or listen to soothing music, many insomniacs probably wish for a switch they can flick to put themselves to sleep. Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, including Paul Shaw, PhD, have discovered such a switch in the brains of fruit flies.
Protein keeps sleep-deprived flies ready to learn
A protein that helps the brain develop early in life can fight the mental fuzziness induced by sleep deprivation, according to Paul Shaw, PhD, a researcher at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
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