"Participants in our study were willing to undergo a lumbar puncture to move research on Alzheimer's disease forward," said co-author Barbara Bendlin of the Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. "Analyzing this fluid allowed us to look at markers related to Alzheimer's disease such as plaques and tangles, as well as markers of inflammation and nerve cell damage." "Our findings align with the idea that worse sleep may contribute to the accumulation of Alzheimer's-related proteins in the brain," Bendlin said. "In the deepest stage of sleep, the brain cleans itself out of plaque and other toxic materials that trigger Alzheimer's disease. "Animal studies suggest sleep affects development of brain changes, but brain changes in turn also affect sleep," Bendlin said.

Source: CNN July 05, 2017 21:27 UTC