Lateralized brunt of sleep deprivation on white matter injury in a rat model of Alzheimer ’s disease

AbstractSleep disturbance is a recognized risk factor for Alzheimer ’s disease (AD), but the underlying micro-pathological evidence remains limited. To bridge this gap, we established an amyloid-β oligomers (AβO)-induced rat model of AD and subjected it to intermittent sleep deprivation (SD). Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and transmission electron microscopy we re employed to assess white matter (WM) integrity and ultrastructural changes in myelin sheaths. Our findings demonstrated that SD exacerbated AβO-induced cognitive decline. Furthermore, we found SD aggravated AβO-induced asymmetrical impairments in WM, presenting with reductions in tract integrit y observed in commissural fibers and association fasciculi, particularly the right anterior commissure, right corpus callosum, and left cingulum. Ultrastructural changes in myelin sheaths within the hippocampus and corpus callosum further confirmed a lateralized effect. Moreover, SD worsened AβO-in duced lateralized disruption of the brain structural network, with impairments in critical nodes of the left hemisphere strongly correlated with cognitive dysfunction. This work represents the first identification of a lateralized impact of SD on the mesoscopic network and cognitive deficits in an A D rat model. These findings could deepen our understanding of the complex interplay between sleep disturbance and AD pathology, providing valuable insights into the early progression of the disease, as well as the development of...
Source: AGE - Category: Geriatrics Source Type: research