A mouse model of sleep deprived neuropathology to study resilience to Alzheimer’s disease

Abstract

Resilience to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a well-known clinical and pathological observation, but the mechanisms involved are not known. Adequate sleep is a potential factor in maintaining resilience to neurodegenerative conditions such as AD. It is well known that sleep deprivation is a major health concern in developed countries and is associated with increasing age. Normal aging produces sleep disturbances including sleep fragmentation and sleep loss in humans, which has recently been recognized as an important risk factor for AD. The idea of enhancing AD resilience by targeting sleep deprivation encompasses the concept of physical resilience to aging. We demonstrate the detrimental effects of sleep deprivation in aging mice and propose a mouse model of AD to test the concept. The model provides a means of testing therapeutics that could be investigated in clinical trials designed to prevent sleep deprivation and enhance resilience to aging and AD in the elderly.

Keywords: Mouse model of sleep deprivation, resilience to aging, resilience to Alzheimer’s disease