MSN: Study finds taking sleeping pills could raise risk of Alzheimer’s disease
A new study published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease found older adults who frequently take sleeping medications including Benzos, Ambien and antidepressants may increase their risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and dementia.
The University of Cincinnati's Rhonna Shatz, DO, adjunct associate professor, division director for behavioral neurology, Bob and Sandy Heimann Endowed Chair in research and education in Alzheimer's disease in the Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation Medicine and a UC Health physician, was not involved in the study and commented on it for MSN and Seasons.
Shatz said there are several reasons why sleeping medication could increase the risk of Alzheimer's and dementia, including that people who take these medications have a different unidentified sleeping disorder like sleep apnea. Untreated sleep apnea prevents normal sleep cycle progression into deep sleep, the stage where certain neurodegenerative proteins are cleared by the brain's glymphatic system, she said.
“Over many years, the accumulation of these proteins will trigger changes that lead to progressive neuronal loss and its accompanying cognitive decline,” Shatz said.
Read the MSN story, originally published on Seasons.
Featured photo at top courtesy of iStock.
Related Stories
Sugar overload killing hearts
November 10, 2025
Two in five people will be told they have diabetes during their lifetime. And people who have diabetes are twice as likely to develop heart disease. One of the deadliest dangers? Diabetic cardiomyopathy. But groundbreaking University of Cincinnati research hopes to stop and even reverse the damage before it’s too late.
Is going nuclear the solution to Ohio’s energy costs?
November 10, 2025
The Ohio Capital Journal recently reported that as energy prices continue to climb, economists are weighing the benefits of going nuclear to curb costs. The publication dove into a Scioto Analysis survey of 18 economists to weigh the pros and cons of nuclear energy. One economist featured was Iryna Topolyan, PhD, professor of economics at the Carl H. Lindner College of Business.
App turns smartwatch into detector of structural heart disease
November 10, 2025
An app that uses an AI model to read a single-lead ECG from a smartwatch can detect structural heart disease, researchers reported at the 2025 Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association. Although the technology requires further validation, researchers said it could help improve the identification of patients with heart failure, valvular conditions and left ventricular hypertrophy before they become symptomatic, which could improve the prognosis for people with these conditions.