Here's another article addressing a possible association between poor sleep and Alzheimer's.
"In a separate report, researchers looked at the relationship between poor sleep consolidation, defined as the interruption of sleep by repeated awakenings, and the risk for AD conferred by the APOE ε4 risk allele, as well as the burden of AD pathology (in this instance, both Aβ and neurofibrillary tangles identified upon autopsy)."
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/813039#2
Another interesting tidbit: Females who carry a single APOE4 allele are at greater risk of developing Alzheimer's than a guy who carries a single APOE4 allele.
"The Stanford researchers demonstrated for the first time the existence of a gender distinction among outwardly healthy, older people who carry the ApoE4 variant. In this group, women but not men exhibit two telltale characteristics that have been linked to Alzheimer’s disease: a signature change in their brain activity, and elevated levels of a protein called tau in their cerebrospinal fluid."
Study shows common genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disrupts brain function in healthy, older women, but not men - Office of Communications & Public Affairs - Stanford University School of Medicine
May I suggest that it is time for daughters of Alzheimer's patients to leave the caregiving to their brothers? Female carriers of a single APOE4 allele (that would include me) can't afford to have sleepless nights caring for the parent who gifted them with the APOE4 allele. What a vicious cycle!
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