Sleep and Alzheimer's May be Linked

Researchers are looking into a link between sleep and Alzheimer's disease.Studies are still underway, but it could help them better understand the disease.Roger Ignatius helps his wife Jeanne as much as he can.In 2009, at the age of 56, she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's."We were out in Colorado and Jeanne slipped and broke her knee and it was actually after the surgery in the hospital stay that I started to notice things weren't quite right," said Roger.Since then, Jeanne's ability to remember things has been on a steady decline."Alzheimer's is a neuro- degenerative condition, meaning that cells in the brain start to not function like they used to and part of that the connection between those cells aren't working," said Dr. Lisa Billars, a neurologist.That broken connection, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Neurology, has an impact on sleep patterns which can also impair cognitive function."Sleep is important in any age and it's something that if someone is diagnosed with early Alzheimer's they should be paying attention to this among many factors," said Dr. Billars."If we are both better rested, we will be able to deal with what we are dealing with," said Roger.