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Taking frequent naps, risking dementia (Part 1)
stubborn doctor
24 Jul 2022 6:11 a.m.
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Daytime nap behavior is a hot topic. And it has always been confused about how to take it. Because in many countries, including the Mediterranean, such as Spain, including recently spread to Europe and the United States
Afternoon naps are considered traditions or cultures.
The so-called Siestas implies that it increases the efficiency of work.
and those who do not work during the night shift
late night until morning
This includes the careers of guards, doctors, nurses, all of whom need to change their sleep times.
instead of noon
In which the doctor's career still has to work for 48 to 72 hours, so use bird naps or take intermittent naps instead.
Now let's go back a little.
As I have always learned that
Sleep well is very important.
The word good is not only the duration of sleep, but also the quality of sleep that requires deep sleep.
and wastes are drained from the brain
After the brain has been used all the time through the glymphatic system that has been described.
Sleep Variability and the Sleep-Wake Cycle
Implied to malfunction of the brain.
The most obvious and frequent is
in Alzheimer's disease
This is the most common type of dementia, accounting for at least 70 to 80% of all dementia.
The variability is found at the beginning of the disease.
with frequent waking at night
The stage of deep sleep that allows the brain to rest.
The brain waves have a slower rhythm.
will decrease
Even though it seems that the duration of the whole night's sleep
will not affect much
but will be combined with more daytime sleep
Moreover, during the day, he is very sleepy and yawning.
and drowsy, rarely waking up
And the only warning sign is during the twilight.
evening twilight
will become irritable
volatile behavior
until the chaos can't be explained
what westerners call sun downing and these may have been brought before
to begin to have a noticeable deterioration in brain function
Mechanism of waking and sleep control
Like an on-off switch
There are groups of brain cells that awaken or switch on WPN (wake-promoting neurons), such as the Noradrenergic locus coeruleus (LC) and Orexin/hyprocretin-producing neurons located in the Lateral hypo thalamus area, and the other group is
Histaminergic neurons in the tuberomamillary nucleus (TMN).
while the switch is on
SPN (sleep–promoting neurons) neurons are inhibited, both of which are located deep in the brain tissue.
For the toxic protein that causes Alzheimer's
The well known one is
“Beta Amyloid”, which in the early stages will accumulate in the surface area or the cerebral cortex.
But there is another "protein town" that plays a key role in the death of brain cells and exacerbating disease.
Taw proteins accumulate and appear in the deep brain regions and the brainstem before spreading to other areas.
Therefore, it is possible that
The latter toxic protein
should be the key
that explains the phenomenon of fluctuations in sleep
But due to the detection of protein town
in the position of the brain
Nuclear medicine PET scans are currently used, which are not accurate enough to locate toxic proteins in deep groups of brain cells, including those in the brainstem.
and for this reason is the source
The faculty of students from many institutions in the United States.
Brazil and Germany
(Reported in Alzheimer's Dement, 2019) The brains of deceased and dementia patients with both Alzheimer's, CBD (Cortical basal degeneration) and PSP (Progressive supranuclear palsy) were studied and looked at the distribution of protein in different places
in the awakening cell network
and simultaneously look at the shape of the cells and the number showing abnormalities along the way.
which reflects the toxic effects of proteins
The results showed that in Alzheimer's
Both toxic protein accumulation was found
in all three groups of neurons (LC, LHA, TMN), and there was concurrent neuronal degeneration.
But in dementia, CBD and PSP, despite the accumulation of Tau
But the number of neurons remained unchanged.
Very little conversion or change
However, when analyzing the clinical symptoms
Different forms of sleep disorders are found.
in which Alzheimer's
The duration of sleep is still quite normal.
But there are frequent awakenings (sleep fragmentation) coupled with frequent daytime naps and difficulty waking up.
Plus there's confusion in the twilight.
On the PSP, the duration of sleep is shorter and it becomes difficult to fall asleep.
And the periods of sleep with and without rapid eye movement (REM and NREM) are shortened, along with the gamma electrocardiogram.
There will be more both while awake and sleeping.
In CBD, the variability in sleep-wake is not as pronounced as in Alzheimer's and PSP.
The results of this study were
giving a different perspective than previously believed
In Alzheimer's, it's difficult to wake up during daytime naps.
It is a compensation process for lack of sleep or poor quality sleep.
but it is possible that
A group of brain cells that stimulate abnormal awakening more than
and this network
Fragile and easily damaged by Alzheimer's protein Tau (AD–Tau).
While the proteins of CBD and PSP, although found in this neuron network also
Both PSP and CBD are classified as dementia groups originating directly from the 4R (four repeat) primary tauopathy.
Toxic protein in Alzheimer's is considered a secondary process and today
Emerging Disease Health Sciences Center
Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University
can measure the level of protein in the blood
phosphorylated or pTau 181 231, which is associated with pathology
neurofibrillary tangle that occurs in the brain.
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