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Alzheimer's hope: Sleep aid blocks up to 40% more harmful tau deposits | Treatment with lemborexant resulted in larger volume in the hippocampus and a smaller gap in brain tissue compared with another sleep aid treatment.


A readily available sleep aid has been shown to have a surprising side effect on brain health, seemingly protecting the organ from the buildup of the tau protein – a key biomarker in the development of neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's.

A readily available sleep aid has been shown to have a surprising side effect on brain health, seemingly protecting the organ from the buildup of the tau protein – a key biomarker in the development of neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's. While Holtzman and his colleagues were among the first scientists to identify lack of sleep as a driver of tau and amyloid buildup in the brain, the team found that it appears more complex than that – and that orexin receptor antagonists, in blocking harmful protein deposits, look to have neuroprotective properties. While the study is another that shows results in the brains of mice, not humans, orexin receptor antagonists may have an added advantage over other sleep aids for people with neurodegeneration, as they don't impair motor function and coordination.

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