A $9 million, five-year grant will help launch an international network of researchers to tackle cerebral amyloid angiopathy

Sleep disorders, including obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), chronic insomnia, and sleep deprivation, are increasingly linked to dysfunction of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), a key regulator of central nervous system homeostasis. Growing evidence demonstrates that BBB injury is associated with cognitive impairment, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD), white matter injury, cerebral small vessel disease, and vascular cognitive impairment. This review summarizes evidence that disturbed sleep impairs BBB integrity and discusses the underlying mechanisms. BBB injury may increase para-cellular permeability, alter endothelial transport, and impair metabolic clearance pathways, thereby facilitating the entry of circulating toxins into the brain and amplifying glial activation, cerebrovascular dysfunction, and neurodegenerative processes. Furthermore, BBB breakdown in the hippocampus may represent an early marker of cognitive dysfunction, which is partly independent of classical amyloid-β and tau pathology. However, this finding requires further validation in larger, longitudinal cohorts. Finally, we discuss the future of therapeutic strategies aimed at both sleep restoration and BBB-related mechanisms and potential biomarkers for assessing BBB dysfunction. We identify key knowledge gaps, including the lack of validated BBB biomarkers in sleep disorders and limited evidence for reversibility of BBB injury after treatment.

 

An investigational drug called davunetide, sprayed into the nose, reaches the brain in different amounts depending on biological sex and, in females, on the phase of the reproductive cycle. Working in mice and then in a small group of healthy adults, researchers at Tel Aviv University found that female mice took up more drug into the head region when estrogen was highest, during proestrus and estrus. In people, women trended toward higher peak plasma concentrations while men held the drug longer. The authors argue that averaging across sexes can hide a real drug effect, and that timing and hormones belong at the center of how brain therapies are designed and dosed.

New grants to UC San Diego researchers will help them explain why women are more likely to get Alzheimer's disease and develop new risk-prediction tools for clinicians.

Virginia Tech neuroscientist Timothy Jarome is investigating whether obesity may be accelerating the brain's aging process, contributing to earlier memory decline. Jarome, professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ School of Animal Sciences studies the molecular mechanisms behind memory disorders such as dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). His latest research is supported by a $410,000 grant from the National Institute on Aging.