Grant: CIHR Fellowship

Dementia remains incurable and is not only a burden to patients and their families but is also a huge economic burden for public health. The Alzheimer Society of Canada and the National Population Health Study of Neurological Conditions estimate the yearly cost of dementia to $10.4 billions, which is predicted to increases to $16.6 billions by 2031. The identification of dementia risk factors is of utmost importance to develop an easy screening protocol in clinical settings, new lines of prevention and potential treatments. Many markers that can be measure in blood represent mechanisms observed in both sleep disturbances and dementia. In fact, there is increasing evidence linking poor sleep quality to increased risk of dementia. The aim of the proposed research project is to investigate whether sleep disturbances are link to blood markers and increase the risk of developing dementia years later. This research will be performed at Boston University within the framework of the Framingham Heart Study Offspring cohort, for which my postdoctoral supervisor, Dr Sudha Seshadri, is the lead neurological researcher funding the dementia research. Data from this prospective cohort study will be used to complete this research project, including a sleep recording performed between 1995 and 1998, multiple neurological evaluations to diagnose dementia in subsequent years, as well as blood markers. If sleep disturbances are associated with incident dementia via neurodegenerative, inflammatory and metabolic markers measured in blood, we will not only contribute to the advancement of knowledge on causes of dementia, but our results may also lead to a clinical protocol. Indeed, patients with sleep disturbances could be screen using blood markers to identify those at greatest risk for dementia. In addition, our findings could lead to studies initiated to possibly prevent dementia with medication combine with therapy to improve their sleep.