We have shown in flies with Alzheimer's that the clock is still ticking but being ignored by other parts of the brain
- Damian Crowther
Being awake at night and dozing during the day can be a distressing early symptom of Alzheimer's disease, but how the disease disrupts our biological clocks to cause these symptoms has remained elusive.
Now, scientists from Cambridge have discovered that in fruit flies with Alzheimer's the biological clock is still ticking but has become uncoupled from the sleep-wake cycle it usually regulates. The findings – published in Disease Models & Mechanisms – could help develop more effective ways to improve sleep patterns in people with the disease.
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Image: The fly brain is half a millimeter across and contains approximately 100,000 nerve cells (green). The A-beta peptide forms plaques (red) that are linked to nerve cell death and behavioral abnormalities in the flies.
Credit: Dr. Stanislav Ott
Reproduced courtesy of the University of Cambridge
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