An exploratory study finds sleeping pills may help ward off the development of Alzheimer's
Key Takeaways
A new study shows a possible way to ward off Alzheimer's disease by using sleeping pills.
The study examined the participants' cerebrospinal fluid for protein levels in the brain and found that a sleeping aid did help decrease these levels.
A small, early-stage study released today from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis shows a promising new way to ward off Alzheimer's disease, better sleep.
By the year 2050, it is projected that 13 million Americans will be living with Alzheimer’s. The disease begins to impact cognitive function as amyloid plaques build up in the brain over time. Poor sleep habits can increase this plaque buildup, but it’s hard to avoid this protein increase because the disease interrupts sleep cycles. And eventually, once enough plaque is present, tau protein, also found in the brain, attacks the brain leading to symptoms like memory loss and confusion.[]
This small study sought to break the cycle of poor sleep and protein buildup by offering participants between the ages of 45 and 65 a sleeping pill during a two-night sleep study. These individuals did not have any cognitive decline. This study served as an exploratory first step, and more in-depth research will be needed in the future.
Some people were given 10mg of the sleeping pill suvorexant, some 20mg, and some placebo. The researchers extracted and examined cerebrospinal fluid every two hours for 36 hours from the participants to see how the levels of plaque and tau changed.
The team chose to give suvorexant instead of other sleeping aids because it was “the first FDA-approved dual orexin receptor antagonist,” study author Brendan Lucey MD, an associate professor of neurology and director of Washington University’s Sleep Medicine Center, tells MDLinx.
The results of the study
The results, though preliminary, were clear; those who received the 20mg dose of the sleeping pill saw their amyloid levels drop 10 percent to 20 percent, and tau levels also fell as much as 15 percent when compared to those given a placebo. There was no significant difference in protein levels between the individuals given 10mg of the sleeping pill and the placebo group.
“This study is exciting because we have shown that suvorexant acutely lowers amyloid-beta and phosphorylated tau,” says Lucey.
“Additional studies are needed where participants receive drugs like suvorexant for longer periods of time. Since suvorexant (and now other dual orexin receptor antagonists) is already FDA-approved, we hope that we can move forward rapidly with phase III trials testing if this class of drug can prevent/delay AD,” he continues.