In recent years, under the leadership of Professor Qu Qiumin, the research team of cognitive impairment from Department of Neurology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University (XJTU) focused on the mechanism of sleep deprivation in promoting Alzheimer's disease, and carried out a series of studies from community-based population, clinical cases to animal experiments, making remarkable achievements and captivating widespread attention and recognition from peers at home and abroad. In 2014, a cohort study of middle-aged and elderly population with cognitive impairment was established in Huyi District, Xi 'an. After 6 years of follow-up, it was found that sleep deprivation significantly increases the risk of dementia, and patients with sleep deprivation develop plasma amyloid transport disorder. After 24-h sleep deprivation in healthy adults, the plasma amyloid level is significantly elevated, which is intimately associated with serum oxidative stress parameters. Animal experiments demonstrated that sleep deprivation can increase the production of amyloid in the brain, reduce the content via blood-brain barrier transport and the elimination of lymphoid system and accelerate the deposition of amyloid in the brain. The mechanism may be correlated with oxidative stress and inflammatory response, prompting that maintaining sufficient sleep is of great significance to prevent Alzheimer's disease.
Professor Qu Qiumin's team has conducted a series of studies analyzing the mechanism of sleep deprivation in promoting Alzheimer's disease. In 2020, the team has published 4 articles in SCI-indexed journals, and contributed 4 posters in Alzheimer's Association International Conference in 2019 and 2020, respectively. In 2017, the thesis of doctorate student Zhao Beiyu entitled "Sleep deprivation induced Amyloid-β transport disturbance in rats and healthy adults" was selected as the Excellent Articles of Chinese Society of Cognitive Impairment of Chinese Medical Association, and delivered a presentation on behalf of China at the Asia-Pacific Dementia Annual Congress. At the 7th China Dementia Conference held in Fuzhou from May 21 to 23, 2021, 2 articles from the team were selected as Excellent Articles, and 10 abstracts were screened for posters. Professor Qu Qiumin was invited to deliver a themed lecture entitled "New mechanism of sleep deprivation in promoting Aβ deposition", which showcased the latest research results and explored a novel field for prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
