New York: Chronic lack of sleep and irregular sleep-wake cycles that disturb the biological cycle are likely to risk the onset of Parkinson’s disease as well as worsen the disease, warns a new study.
The animals-based study showed that the disturbances in the circadian rhythm — the roughly 24-hour biological cycle of humans daily exposure to long periods of light with brief exposure to dark may also dramatically worsen the motor and learning deficits brought on by the disease.
“Many think that sleep disturbances are secondary to Parkinson’s disease. But circadian rhythm disturbances are increasingly reported before the onset of Parkinson’s, suggesting that they could be risk factors,” said Domenico Pratico, professor at LKSOM in the US.
Further, the researchers observed significant reductions in neurons in substantia nigra — a brain region that produces dopamine, the loss of which is a major molecular feature of Parkinson’s disease.
“Cells normally die in that region of the brain, but our study shows that circadian rhythm disturbance accelerates cell death there,” Pratico added.
The findings are detailed online in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.
Researchers also noted sleep problems in young adults, especially women, are significantly linked to chronic pain and even worsening pain severity over time, researchers report.
Overall, 38 per cent of young adults with severe sleep problems at initial evaluation had chronic pain at follow-up, compared with 14 per cent of those without initial sleep problems.
“In contrast, the presence of pain generally doesn’t predict worsening sleep problems during the transition between adolescence and young adulthood,” said Dr Irma J. Bonvanie from University of Groningen, the Netherlands.
