Role of sleep-related brain activity in clearing toxic proteins and preventing Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer's disease
PET scan of a human brain with Alzheimer’s disease. Credit: public domain

Evidence of sleep-dependent low-frequency (PLOS Biology by Xiao Liu and colleagues at The Pennsylvania State University. This neuronal activity was more strongly linked with cerebrospinal fluid flow in healthy controls than higher risk groups and patients, and the findings could serve as a potential imaging marker for clinicians in evaluating patients.

The development of Alzheimer’s disease is believed to be driven by the buildup of the toxic proteins amyloid-β and tau in the brain. The brain’s glymphatic system plays a crucial role in clearing these toxins and previous work has shown a…

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