The latest investigation says that sleep deprivation may cause more harm than previously thought, perhaps leading to permanent loss of brain cells. The findings, published in the latest issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, show that chronic sleep deprivation killed 25 percent of brain cells in the brains of lab rats. If this same response occurs in humans, then trying to catch up on sleep may be a futile endeavor, said the team from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Scientists believe that a drug may one day be developed to stop the damage caused by sleep deprivation to the brain. The researchers kept laboratory rats awake to emulate the sleep deprivation common in modern society because of doing night shifts or working too long hours. They paid close attention to those brain cells in the rats’ brains that are associated with keeping the brain alert. The researchers used the sleeping hours of night shift workers as a model, that is, working three nights in a row and sleeping only four to five hours out of every 24 hours. After letting the lab rats sleep at the same time as the night shift workers for several days, the lab rats lost 25 percent of their brain cells in the brain stem section. The University of Pennsylvania scientists said this is the first evidence that sleep deprivation causes brain cell death, but stressed that more research must be done to confirm whether humans also suffer irreparable damage to brain cells due to sleep deprivation. The scientists revealed that the next step in the study is to examine the brains of the deceased who did shift work (alternating between night and day shifts) during their lifetime to see if there is any evidence of brain cell loss. And in the long run, the scientists suggest developing a drug to protect brain cells and improve the natural chemicals in the body associated with sleep.