There is a great debate with two »camps« about the cause of Alzheimer's disease. What is certain is that there is an increased presence of beta-amyloid and tau proteins in the brains of people who have died of Alzheimer's disease. Originally it was thought that these misfolded proteins would cause Alzheimer's; this opinion is still shared by a good part of the professional world, as a »camp«. I believe, as do more and more other doctors and scientists, that these proteins are protein waste that can no longer be disposed of by the diseased brain cells. As already described, the cells fall ill for various reasons, all of which lead to a lack of energy such as a lack of oxygen, heavy metal poisoning or a lack of sugar.

But I would now like to report on a study that provides a very nice explanation of the way in which these proteins accumulate in the brain and why there might also be something to the original thesis. Amyloid probably has the task of removing toxic metals from the nerve cells. And about why coffee seems to help against Alzheimer's in large observational studies.

It was only in 2002 that it was discovered that the brain has a kind of sewage system. While the sleep thereby the glia cells (support and auxiliary cells beside the nerve cells) in the brain, which were considered useless for a long time, contract. As a result, more space is created for the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) to circulate in the brain. In the process, the cerebrospinal fluid also picks up and carries away protein debris such as beta-amyloid and tau proteins, among other things.

In 2014, I showed how strong the influence of sleep is on this process in a particularly impressive study. Healthy subjects were allowed to stay awake for one night; meanwhile, a comparison group slept normally. Before falling asleep and the next morning, nerve fluid samples (quite unpleasant) were taken from the test participants and the concentration of the presumably harmful amyloid protein was measured. The deprivation of sleep suppresses the above-described regeneration system. The subjects who were allowed to sleep had 6% less amyloid in their neural fluid, whereas in the experimental group the amount of amyloid increased.

There is a clear link between sleep deprivation and Alzheimer's disease (affected patients sleep less and less). It was just not known whether this was a symptom or a cause of the disease. This study gives rise to the explanation that sleep deprivation plays an important role in the development of Alzheimer's disease. It fits that famous people such as former U.S. President Ronald Reagan and former British Foreign Secretary Margaret Thatcher, who both boasted of needing only 4-5 hours of sleep, both developed Alzheimer's later in life.

For a long time, there was also no good explanation as to why coffee would protect against Alzheimer's. The fact is that caffeine increases the production amount of cerebrospinal fluid. This makes more "scavenging fluid" available during sleep, allowing for increased removal of harmful proteins.

Source: Dr. Peter Attia: Matthew Walker, Ph.D., on sleep - Part I of III: Dangers of poor sleep, Alzheimer's risk, mental health, memory consolidation, and more

If you have any questions about this topic or wish to get a personal consultation with our practice, please schedule an appointment. Appointments can take place in our Kaiserslautern office or over the phone.

📅   Schedule Appointment

Existing patients may also contact us by using our app.