We have known for a long time that sleep is more than rest, it is a vital need such as eating or breathing. Lack of sleep can have devastating consequences on our physical state, but also on our mental state. The big question for many scientists is why, a question that we have not yet answered at all, but in whose resolution we have advanced significantly.
Sleep and dementia. A line of research that in recent years has gained importance has been the one that studies the role of the glinphathic system in the relationship between our dream and the appearance of dementia. The key would be in the “cleaning” work that this system exerts in our brain.
The glinphathic system. The glinphathic system can be seen in certain contexts such as a cerebral analogue of the Lymphatic system. This forgotten anatomical system exercises different tasks in our body, being one of them to “take out the garbage”, clean the accumulation of waste generated by cells and eliminate harmful substances that may be present in our tissues.
The lymphatic system does not extend through our brain, but someone must perform this important task in the central nervous system. A few years ago we began to understand who and how. The problem is that we have not yet managed to find out the most relevant aspects of the call GLINFATIC SYSTEM.
Cleaning the plates. This cleaning work could be linked to the appearance of diseases such as Alzheimer’s. In A recent article in The conversationa group of researchers from the Macquarie University formed by Julia Chapman, Camilla Hoyos and Craig Phillips, explained this relationship.
This hypothesis is based on the role they play in the appearance of the disorder Beta-amyloid proteins (Aβ). Over time these proteins tend to accumulate in our brain and, if they are not refined, they form plates that hinder the proper neurological functioning, damaging the brain and giving rise to the appearance of the disease.
Night work The hypothesis that links sleep and Alzheimer’s way of the glinphathic system is also based on the idea that it is during the dream that the system takes the opportunity to clean impurities and toxins.
However, the doubts about what the dream is what this relationship unleashes. As Chapman, Hoyos and Phillips stand out, studies sometimes seem to contradict, for example when measuring if the Aβ levels we find in the brain liquid are greater during sleep or during vigil.
From mice to people. One of the problems we find in this line of research is that much of what we know we know it thanks to studies in micewhile the analysis with humans are limited. However, some studies have managed to approach the problem from human biology.
An example cited by the team is A study Posted in 2018 in the magazine Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Pnas). In it the team observed how a simple night of sleep deprivation could cause Aβ levels to increase significantly in the hippocampus. The study therefore reinforces the theory that the dream is closely linked to the probability of dementia.
The risks of insomnia. The 2018 study was conducted in healthy people who experienced a night of sleep deprivation. So what about people who have insomnia or similar problems? This issue is different and requires a separate study.
According to Macquarie’s team, some analysis carried out with people with insomnia and sleep apneas (interruptions caused by breathing problems) have associated these types of problems with a higher risk of dementia or with lower levels of Aβ. This again seems to support the thesis of a relationship between sleep and dementia mediated by this “cleaning system.”
Another relevant issue is how sleeping pills influence, if it is at sleeping facilitate the functioning of the glinphathic system or if on the contrary the effect of these does not facilitate their night activity. A study Made in mice and published this year in the magazine Cell points to the second possibility since these compounds They did not activate the appearance of norepinephrinea compound that seems to perform an important rum in this “drain” function of toxins and other harmful compounds for the brain.
Image | Craig Adderley / Milad Fakurian
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