Synergistic Effects of Biological Sex and Sleep Loss in an AD Mouse Model

Sleep disruptions impact males and females differently in later life and are a known risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease.

We believe that the longitudinal methodologies that we are using that allow us to track whole brain phenotypes using magnetic resonance imaging is extremely novel. Further, sex as a biological variable is typically completely overlooked in the context of preclinical work, thus modelling female-specific risk factors for the disease may provide important knowledge that may allow us to move towards precision medicine approaches.

There is an overwhelming need to improve our understanding of female health in the context of neurodegenerative disorders. Understanding how sleep disturbance acts as a risk factor for Alzheimer’s diease and how the impact of this biological phenomenon may impact brain health is critical to developing interventions that may act on this important part of daily life.