Using basic science to predict and manage Dementia and Parkinson's Disease in the clinic
The transition from healthy brain ageing to a neurodegenerative disease is a chronic process that includes a number of subtle pre-clinical features that, when fully understood, will lead to earlier diagnostic certainty. Specifically in relation to this proposal, members of the research
team have previously described selective disturbances in the sleep-wake cycle across Alzheimer's Dementia, Lewy Body Dementia, Frontotemporal Dementia and Parkinson's Disease, as well as in Mild Cognitive Impairment - a recognised 'at risk' state for dementia. These sleep-wake disruptions
are likely to have unique neurobiological underpinnings across the cellular (e.g. clock genes), circuitry (e.g. sleep stage regulator) and system (e.g. circadian rhythm) levels. Furthermore, these changes occur long before our current ability to clinically diagnose these diseases. For example,
dream enactment behaviour (idiopathic REM sleep behaviour disorder - iRBD) almost universally predicts the development of PD or LBD and work by members of our own team has shown that patients with MCI have similar circadian changes to those seen in patients with AD. Therefore, this project
will seek to identify robust sleep-wake biomarkers that will provide a window for pre-morbid diagnosis and treatment.
Keywords: ARC; COGNITIVE DISORDERS; DEMENTIA; NEUROIMAGING; NEUROSCIENCES; NHMRC; PARKINSON'S DISEASE
Document Type: Research Article
Publication date: 01 August 2017
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