Summary: Researchers report cognitively normal older people who experience excessive sleepiness during the day have more brain atrophy than those who do not experience fatigue.

Source: AASM.

Excessive daytime sleepiness and fatigue symptoms may be clinical markers of accelerated brain aging.

A new study found that normal older adults who experience excessive sleepiness during the day or significant fatigue may have more brain atrophy than expected for their age, particularly in areas of the brain that are more susceptible to aging and Alzheimer’s disease.

Results show that subjects with excessive daytime sleepiness or fatigue not only had more disturbed sleep, but also significantly lower cognitive scores and more medical comorbidities.

“Our results may help to identify individuals at higher susceptibility or risk for dementia prior to symptom onset so that appropriate interventions can be undertaken early to prevent progression to dementia,” said lead author, Diego Z. Carvalho, MD, a resident physician of neurology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

The research abstract was published recently in an online supplement of the journal Sleep and will be presented Tuesday, June 14, and Wednesday, June 15, in Denver at SLEEP 2016, the 30th Anniversary Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC (APSS).

In the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging, the authors identified 1,374 cognitively normal elderly aged 50 years and older who completed sleepiness and fatigue surveys and had a baseline structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Excessive daytime sleepiness was defined as Epworth Sleepiness Scale of 10 or more. Fatigue severity was assessed with the Beck Depression Inventory-II.

About this sleep research article

Funding: The study was supported by the National Institute on Aging.

Source: Amy Pyle – AASM

Image Source: This NeuroscienceNews.com image is in the public domain.

Original Research: The study will be presented at Sleep 2016 in Denver.

Abstract Title: Sleepiness and Fatigue associated with Brain Atrophy in Cognitively Normal Elderly: Mayo Clinic Study of Aging

Abstract ID: 0979

Presentation Date: Tuesday, June 14 and Wednesday, June 15

Presentation Type: Poster and Oral

Presentation Time: Poster, Tuesday, 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Oral, Wednesday, 1:45 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Cite This NeuroscienceNews.com Article

[cbtabs][cbtab title=”MLA”]AASM. “Sleepiness and Fatigue Linked to Atrophy in Cognitively Normal Elderly.” NeuroscienceNews. NeuroscienceNews, 14 June 2016.

<https://neurosciencenews.com/fatigue-atrophy-cognition-aging-4476/>.[/cbtab][cbtab title=”APA”]AASM. (2016, June 14). Sleepiness and Fatigue Linked to Atrophy in Cognitively Normal Elderly. NeuroscienceNews. Retrieved June 14, 2016 from https://neurosciencenews.com/fatigue-atrophy-cognition-aging-4476/[/cbtab][cbtab title=”Chicago”]AASM. “Sleepiness and Fatigue Linked to Atrophy in Cognitively Normal Elderly.” https://neurosciencenews.com/fatigue-atrophy-cognition-aging-4476/ (accessed June 14, 2016).[/cbtab][/cbtabs]

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