Modeling resilience to sleep disruption to study resistance to Alzheimer’s disease

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a devastating neurodegenerative condition with unknown etiology and no cure. Therefore, it is imperative to learn more about underlying risk factors. Since AD is an age-related disease, one approach is to look at factors associated with aging. One example is sleep disruption (SD), which increases with age and accelerates progression of cognitive decline. However, some people with sleep loss experience little or no cognitive impairment and are considered resilient. The concept that resilience to sleep disruption increases resistance to AD can be modeled in aging mice with or without cognitive impairment to determine resistance or susceptibility to AD. Given that sleep disruption is a relevant and rising health concern, it is essential to gain a better understanding of resilience, and factors associated with resistance to AD, in order to develop successful intervention strategies.

Key words: Aging, Sleep disruption, Resilience, Cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s disease, Neuropathology, Resistance