Losing sleep over the spread of Alzheimer's disease Event

One of the distressing early signs of Alzheimer's disease is the deterioration in the quality of circadian rhythms. It is unclear whether this is because the molecular clock is destroyed by the disease process or whether the broader integrity of the brain in compromised resulting a loss or responsiveness to the ticking of the clock. Our work in a Drosophila model has provided strong support for the latter view. Indeed the clock itself is particularly resistant to the amyloid beta insult but can succumb to spreading toxicity from neighbouring neurones.