Nature and Science of Sleep最新文献

Study objectives: We aimed to explore the candidate metabolic pathways involved in narcolepsy type 1 (NT1)-related dyslipidemia.

Methods: Forty-four patients with NT1, and 44 controls were included in this multicenter metabolomics study. All participants included underwent an overnight polysomnography and multiple sleep latency test. Fasting blood samples were collected to assess lipid levels, including total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and triglyceride (TG). Serum metabolomics was used to explore characteristic metabolites in the discovery and validation sets.

Results: Patients with NT1 had higher values for TC (5.13 ± 0.14 vs 4.63 ± 0.14 mmol/L, P = 0.024), and LDL-C (3.01±0.13 vs 2.59 ± 0.13 mmol/L, P = 0.038), but a lower HDL-C (1.32 ± 0.07 vs 1.53 ± 0.07 mmol/L, P = 0.039) compared to controls after adjusting for potential confounders. Enrichment analysis suggested that arginine biosynthesis and arginine and proline metabolism were different between patients with NT1 and controls. Four NT1-related metabolites were identified, glutamate (β = -0.319, P = 0.049) correlated negatively with HDL-C, after adjusting for potential confounders.

Conclusion: Increased serum glutamate level is associated with decreased level of HDL-C in patients with NT1. Arginine metabolism dysfunction may contribute to dyslipidemia in NT1.

Insomnia constitutes a significant worldwide public health burden. Limitations of conventional treatments, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy and hypnotic medications, have fueled growing interest in complementary and alternative medicine approaches, including laser acupuncture (LA). This comprehensive mini-review evaluates LA's effects and mechanisms for insomnia management. Clinical evidence indicates that LA alleviates both primary insomnia and comorbid cases (eg, with cancer, hypertension, and perimenopausal syndrome). LA demonstrates efficacy comparable to traditional needle acupuncture in improving subjective and objective sleep quality, while also reducing affective symptoms and enhancing quality of life. This provides an appealing alternative for needle-phobia patients. LA appears generally safe, with only mild, transient adverse effects reported. Mechanistic investigations suggest that LA may act via neurotransmitter modulation, autonomic nervous system regulation, and alterations in brain wave activity. However, methodological limitations -- particularly small sample sizes, heterogeneous populations, incomplete treatment parameter reporting, and insufficient follow-ups -- compromise the current evidence base. Future research should adopt multicenter, large-scale, placebo-controlled randomized trials, complemented by advanced techniques such as neuroimaging, polysomnography, and neurochemical assays, to further validate the therapeutic potential of LA and elucidate its underlying mechanisms.

Background: The relationship between sleep and healthy aging is complex, involving changes in sleep patterns, architecture, and disturbances. Recognizing these changes is crucial for maintaining physical, cognitive, social, and psychological well-being in older adults. However, links between sleep parameters and aging outcomes remain unclear.

Objective: This review synthesizes current knowledge on associations between sleep parameters (duration, continuity, architecture, quality) and healthy aging outcomes, including physical health, cognitive function, psychological well-being, and social engagement.

Methods: Following the Arksey and O'Malley framework and Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines, this scoping review analyzed observational studies on healthy older adults. Sleep-related measures were examined without confounders from mental or physical illnesses.

Results: Twenty studies were included. Across cohorts, older adults consistently exhibited advanced sleep phases (bedtime ≈39 minutes earlier, wake time ≈76 minutes earlier) and reduced total sleep time (by approximately 2.4 hours vs younger adults). Both short and long sleep durations were associated with poorer aging outcomes, supporting a U-shaped relationship between sleep length and healthy aging. Sleep efficiency decreased by 13% and wake after sleep onset increased fourfold with age, particularly among women. Age-related reductions in slow-wave and REM sleep were linked to lower cognitive performance and altered mood regulation. Moderate daytime napping (<60 min/day) was generally associated with better sleep quality, whereas excessive napping correlated with reduced odds of "successful aging". Discrepancies between subjective and objective sleep assessments emerged, indicating that older adults may underreport sleep disturbances.

Conclusion: Gaps in understanding longitudinal sleep data, the mechanisms of sleep's impact on aging, and napping's role need further exploration. Future research could inform interventions for promoting healthy aging.

Background: Insomnia may lead to or be co-morbid with mental disorders. However, available treatments have significant side effects. Time-acupoints-space acupuncture, eight methods of intelligent turtle (ATAS-EMIT), as a low-hazard insomnia treatment, has been focused on.

Methods: Thirty-six rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: normal (Control), insomnia (Model), ATAS-EMIT treatment (Treatment), and sham acupuncture treatment (Sham). Behavioral experiments were used to assess the treatment of ATAS-EMIT for insomnia. ELISA, Western blot, and immunofluorescence staining were used to detect the expression of 5-HT, AC, cAMP, 5HT_1A receptor (5HT_1AR), and 5HT_2A receptor (5HT_2AR) in rat hippocampus. Transcriptome sequencing was used to explore more therapeutic mechanisms.

Results: ATAS-EMIT treatment significantly reduced anxiety-like behaviors and activities in PCPA insomniac rats in the open field test. Additionally, ATAS-EMIT significantly shortened the sleep latency period in insomnia-prone rats while prolonging both sleep duration and hanging rest time. These behavioral studies suggest that ATAS-EMIT is a treatment for insomnia. The insomnia-related indicators showed that ATAS-EMIT significantly activated the 5-HT/AC/cAMP pathway, promoted the expression of the 5HT_1AR, and inhibited the expression of the 5HT_2AR for therapeutic purposes. Subsequent transcriptome sequencing revealed that ATAS-EMIT-treated DEGs were enriched for multiple insomnia-related functions such as phototransduction, stimulus-response, and tryptophan metabolism. Six key genes, Cngb1, Cabp4, Sag, Tyr, Trpm1, and Adipoq, were screened and validated.

Conclusion: ATAS-EMIT significantly improved insomnia symptoms in PCPA insomniac rats, and activation of the 5-HT/AC/cAMP pathway was involved. Various mechanisms, such as phototransduction, tryptophan metabolism, and reduction of stimulation, contributed to the therapeutic effects of ATAS-EMIT.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with Meige syndrome and to explore the associations among socio-demographic factors, depression, sleep quality, and HRQoL.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a convenience sampling method. Data were collected between March and June 2025 from six tertiary hospitals located in Henan Province and Guangdong Province. A total of 376 valid questionnaires were collected. Four instruments were used, including the socio-demographic characteristics questionnaire, the Self-Rating Depression Scale, the Pittsburgh sleep quality index, and the Short-From 36 Health Survey.

Results: The current study reported a mean SF-36 score of 49.6 ± 13.2 among patients with Meige syndrome, indicating moderate HRQoL impairment. The present study identified a negative correlation between HRQoL score with depression score and sleep quality score. Multiple linear regression showed that disease duration (β = 0.17, P < 0.001), self-care ability (β = -0.13, P = 0.013), depression (β = -0.14, P = 0.006) and sleep quality (β = -0.12, P = 0.021) were significant factors associated with HRQoL in Meige syndrome patients.

Conclusion: Patients with Meige syndrome exhibited moderate impairment in HRQoL. Depression and poor sleep quality were significantly associated with lower HRQoL.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS) is a prevalent sleep disorder characterized by recurrent upper airway obstruction, resulting in intermittent hypoxia, oxidative stress, and systemic inflammation. Ferroptosis, an iron-dependent form of regulated cell death triggered by lipid peroxidation, has recently been proposed as a potential contributor to the tissue injury observed in OSAS. OSAS appears to aggravate disturbances in iron homeostasis and oxidative imbalance, both of which may converge to exacerbate disease pathophysiology. However, the precise mechanisms linking ferroptosis to OSAS remain largely speculative. Emerging evidence from experimental studies indicates that ferroptosis-related genes and pathways might be involved in the cardiovascular, neurological, and renal complications associated with OSAS. This review summarizes current knowledge regarding oxidative stress and iron metabolism under intermittent hypoxia, explores the potential regulatory mechanisms of ferroptosis, and discusses its hypothesized contribution to OSAS-related organ injury. While targeting ferroptosis may represent a promising research direction, the current evidence remains preliminary and predominantly experimental. Further mechanistic and clinical investigations are essential to clarify whether ferroptosis plays a causal role in OSAS pathogenesis and to evaluate its translational relevance.

Background: The prognostic value of sleep depth remains poorly understood. The odds ratio product (ORP) is a novel electroencephalogram-based biomarker of sleep depth. We investigated the association between ORP-derived biomarkers and all-cause mortality in a large community-based cohort.

Methods: We analyzed 5802 Sleep Heart Health Study participants. A suite of ORP biomarkers was derived from baseline polysomnography, including mean ORP values across sleep stages, change in ORP across the night (ΔORP), interhemispheric sleep depth coherence (ORP _{Icc R/L}), and ORP architecture phenotypes. Cox proportional hazards models with false discovery rate (FDR) correction estimated mortality associations. Prognostic nomograms were constructed based on variables selected through least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) and multivariable Cox regression.

Results: During 11.0 years of follow-up, 1305 deaths occurred. After multivariable adjustment and FDR correction, higher ORP_W (HR: 0.54, 95% CI: 0.39-0.73), ORP_REM (HR: 0.81, 95% CI: 0.69-0.95), ORP_N1 (HR: 0.71, 95% CI: 0.59-0.87), ORP _{ICC R/L} (HR: 0.49, 95% CI: 0.29-0.81), and ΔORP (HR: 0.70, 95% CI: 0.56-0.87) were associated with lower mortality risk, while higher ORP_N3 (HR: 1.38, 95% CI: 1.06-1.81) predicted increased risk. ORP architecture phenotypes 1,2 (HR: 1.28, 95% CI: 1.06-1.56), 1,3 (HR: 1.27, 95% CI: 1.05-1.54), and 3,1 (HR: 1.48, 95% CI: 1.19-1.84) conferred higher mortality risk compared to phenotype 2,2. Non-linear associations and threshold effects were identified for ORP_N1, ORP _{ICC R/L}, and ΔORP. Among ORP parameters examined, ΔORP and ORP architecture phenotypes were identified as the most important predictors through LASSO and multivariable Cox regression. Prognostic nomograms integrating these selected ORP metrics with traditional risk factors demonstrated excellent discrimination (C-index: 0.81).

Conclusion: ORP-derived biomarkers are independently associated with all-cause mortality and complement conventional sleep metrics in refining mortality risk stratification. Identified threshold effects for several ORP parameters may provide potential cutoff points for clinical intervention.

Objective: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been associated with alterations in white-matter integrity. However, few studies have examined topological alterations of white-matter structural networks in OSA. We aimed to investigate alterations in brain structural networks in patients with OSA using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) combined with the network-based statistic (NBS).

Methods: Clinical, neuropsychological, and DTI data were collected from 77 patients with OSA and 83 healthy controls (HCs). DTI-based structural networks were established based on whole-brain probabilistic tractography. The inter-group difference in topological properties was compared. NBS analysis was performed to assess changes in network connectivity, and the correlation between topological properties and clinical variables was evaluated.

Results: Graph theory analysis showed reduced betweenness centrality (BC) in the left dorsolateral superior frontal gyrus (SFGdor.L) and supplementary motor area (SMA.L) and reduced nodal efficiency (NE) of the SFGdor.L in patients with OSA. NBS analysis revealed abnormalities in a sub-network with 14 nodes, where positive connectivity was observed between individual nodes in patients with OSA. Pearson correlation analysis indicated that the BC of SMA.L was positively correlated with anxious (r = 0.242, P = 0.034) and cognitive (r = 0.252, P = 0.027) scores. Compared with HCs, Patients with OSA exhibited lower cognitive scores and higher levels of depression and anxiety.

Conclusion: Our findings show alterations in BC and NE of the SFGdor.L and BC of the SMA.L that may reflect neurobiological features of white-matter network disruption in OSA and could represent potential imaging biomarkers of early cerebral involvement. These results are correlational and longitudinal studies are needed to determine temporal relationships and causal effects.