About Liz Seegert
Liz Seegert is an independent health journalist and AHCJ’s topic leader on aging. She covers older adults, baby boomers, health policy, and social determinants of health, as well as many other health issues. Her bylines include stories for PBS/NextAvenue.org. the American Journal of Nursing, TIME Health, Medscape, Consumer Reports, and Medical Economics, as well as dozens of other trade and mainstream media. Her articles have been syndicated in Forbes.com, the Los Angeles Times, the Hartford Courant, the Saturday Evening Post and other major outlets.

Image by Tony Alter via flickr.
How much and how well older adults sleep may be associated with Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study published in JAMA Neurology this week. Researchers from The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that buildup of ß-Amyloid plaques — one of the hallmarks of the disease — was greater in people who reported sleep disturbances and who slept for fewer hours than those who got at least seven hours of Z’s with good sleep quality.
Fluctuations in ß-Amyloid levels may be regulated by sleep-wake patterns according to the report’s authors. Investigators looked at data from 70 adults (average age 76 years) in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. Plaque buildup was measured by imaging of the brain.
According to the National Institute on Aging, as many as 5.1 million Americans may have the disease. First symptoms usually appear after age 60, but it’s likely that damage to the brain starts a decade or more before problems are evident. Previous studies have linked disturbed sleep to cognitive impairment in older people. Continue reading →
Liz Seegert is an independent health journalist and AHCJ’s topic leader on aging. She covers older adults, baby boomers, health policy, and social determinants of health, as well as many other health issues. Her bylines include stories for PBS/NextAvenue.org. the American Journal of Nursing, TIME Health, Medscape, Consumer Reports, and Medical Economics, as well as dozens of other trade and mainstream media. Her articles have been syndicated in Forbes.com, the Los Angeles Times, the Hartford Courant, the Saturday Evening Post and other major outlets.