Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by difficulties in remembering recent information, disorientation and progressive loss of the ability to perform daily tasks. It is more frequent in the elderlybut can also occur in younger patients (although this is rare).
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of neurodegenerative dementia in the elderly, and its exact causes are not yet fully understood by science.
Recently, a study published in the scientific journal Nature Neuroscience has shown thatA drug used to treat insomnia could protect the brain from neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease.
Medicine deals with insomnia and prevents neurodegenerative diseases
In a preclinical study conducted on miceresearchers from Washington University in Saint-Louis, in the United States, in partnership with the Japanese pharmaceutical laboratory EISAI, have identified a drug used to treat insomnia as a promising option against Alzheimer’s disease.
The drug in question is the lemborexant (sold under the name of Dayvigo abroad), which has proven capable of protecting the brain from mice Against the accumulation of tau protein, a protein associated with the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
IMPORTANT: The Lemborexant medication was approved as an effective treatment against insomnia in 2019 by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the drug regulation body in the United States. In Brazil, it has been analyzed by the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (Anvisa) since 2022.
And how does this protection occur? The Lemborexant acts by blocking orexin, a neuropeptide which regulates sleep and awakening, and by significantly reducing the presence of the Tau protein. It was observed thatBy genetically deactivating the orexin receiver, there was a reduction in the tau proteinindicating a possible involvement of orexin in the progression of neurodegeneration.
The results have shown that the lemborexant improved sleep quality and reduced tau protein levels in the animal’s brain. Moreover, The drug has preserved between 30 % and 40 % additional brain volume in the hippocampus, a region essential to memory.
“We have shown that the Lemborexant improves sleep and reduces abnormal tau rates, which seem to be A major factor responsible for neurological lesions observed in Alzheimer’s disease And several related diseases, “said David Holtzman, a neurologist and co-author of the study, in a press release.
However, everything is not as simple … This study has certain limitsas the authors themselves specify.
Some questions should be deepened, as the protective effect of the brain has only been observed in male mice. In addition, the Lemborexant is only authorized for short -term use. The effects of its continuous use are still unknown to science.
References of the news:
A drug against insomnia reduces proteins linked to Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study. June 20, 2025, Jorge AGLE.
The Lemborexant improves the loss of sleep and the neurodegeneration induced by the Tau protein in males in a murin model of tauopathy. May 27, 2025, Parhizkar.
