The Relationship between Sleep Quality and Brain Amyloid Burden

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Sleep Medicine
• Gerontology

Background:

• Cognitive decline in aging is a growing concern.
• Brain amyloid-beta (Aβ) accumulation is a hallmark of neurodegenerative diseases.
• Sleep disturbances are common in older adults and may impact brain health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between self-reported sleep quality and brain Aβ burden.
• To determine if the apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 allele influences this relationship.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study of 184 cognitively healthy older adults (>60 years).
• Assessed sleep quality using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI).
• Quantified brain Aβ burden via positron emission tomography and APOE genotyping.

Main Results:

• Longer sleep latency (time to fall asleep) was significantly associated with higher brain Aβ burden (P=0.02).
• No significant moderation effect of APOE ε4 carriage was found on the sleep latency-Aβ relationship.

Conclusions:

• Sleep latency is a potential indicator of brain Aβ burden in older adults.
• The observed association between sleep latency and Aβ burden is independent of APOE ε4 genotype.