U.S. researchers said Sept. 24 that a study found that sleep deprivation may be a factor in causing Alzheimer’s disease. The findings were published in the journal Science, according to Reuters. Researchers at Barnes-Judea St. Peter’s Hospital (Barnes-Jewish Hospital), who genetically bred rats with dementia, studied their beta amyloid levels. Alzheimer’s patients often have deposits of this protein in their brains. The study showed that amyloid levels rose when the rats were awake and fell when they were asleep. Dr. David Holtzman of St. Peter’s Hospital in Barnes-Judea noted that the situation became worse when the researchers disturbed the rats’ sleep. “Sleep deprivation significantly accelerates the formation of beta amyloid,” he said in an email. When the researchers injected the rats’ brains with orexin, a food-enhancing factor that adjusts wakefulness, the rats were awake longer and their beta amyloid levels increased; if the food-enhancing factor was suppressed, beta amyloid levels decreased. Holtzman said the results of the study indicate that if you take drugs to adjust the level of orexin, may help treat Alzheimer’s disease. The findings also suggest that sleep disorders need to be treated because they not only produce short-term problems, but may also have long-term effects on brain health.