Insomnia Medication and Alzheimer’s Research

        On April 30th, Dr. Elizabeth Paitel spoke to Loyola Neuroscience students regarding her research on Alzheimer’s disease. There are a variety of genetic and environmental factors underlying one’s level of risk for developing this disease, alongside a host of methods, currently being studied, which aid in detecting increased risk. The APOE epsilon-4 allele is one such genetic component of an increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease. In her research on participants with this allele, Dr. Paitel utilized electroencephalogram (EEG) technology to analyze event-related potentials during an inhibitory control task. Ultimately, she found that cerebellar activity can be used as an indicator of Alzheimer’s disease before the onset of cognitive deterioration in elderly participants. 

        Because so much remains unknown about this condition, viewing the brain’s functioning before and after onset provides invaluable information to the goal of creating a full picture of Alzheimer’s disease and aging as a whole. In addition, such research contributes to efforts toward understanding how to manage or prevent neurodegeneration.

        Another important piece of the puzzle lies in analyzing the mechanisms by which Alzheimer’s disease develops and how medications can be used to counteract it. In an article titled Insomnia drug may lower levels of Alzheimer’s proteins, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) reported that a clinical trial was being launched to test a drug with the potential to slow the onset of neurodegeneration. Suvorexant, a drug that is typically used to alleviate insomnia, has been found to reduce the concentration of tau and amyloid-beta proteins in cerebrospinal fluid. Build-up of these proteins in and around neurons is characteristic of the neuronal death seen in Alzheimer’s disease. This opens the door for researchers to study pharmaceutical methods to treat, slow, or even prevent dementia development while also studying the relationship between dementia and poor sleep. 

        Though the wider scientific community’s understanding of neurodegenerative diseases remains clouded by the human brain’s complexity, we continue to steadily march toward a more hopeful future due to the work of researchers like Dr. Paitel. Perhaps future generations can expect to age more comfortably as their findings progress.