Naima Covassin, Ph.D.

The purpose of this study is to research the effects of partial sleep deprivation (sleep restriction) in a group of individuals whose parents have high blood pressure compared to a group of individuals whose parents have normal blood pressure.

Amongst the different aging female phenotypes, women exposed to premature menopause due to bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (BSO) at premenopausal age exhibit greater risk of adverse outcomes compared to controls without BSO. The abrupt ovarian hormones loss caused by BSO precipitates menopause-associated health risks, including increasing risk of cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Emerging literature from epidemiological and experimental studies suggests that sleep disruption may be a significant contributor to cognitive decline and neurodegeneration. It is well-known that sleep disturbances increase dramatically during menopause transition. However, as these data have been gathered primarily from women undergoing natural menopause, it is unclear whether such findings can be extrapolated to women with BSO. Moreover, it is plausible that poor sleep may be contributory to the heightened risk of cognitive impairment and dementia experienced by women with BSO. Thus, given the excess disease burden suffered by women with BSO, there is an urgent need to identify determinants of poor health and long-term complications, including dementia risk.

We propose the following specific aims:

1)         To asses sleep quality and quantity in women with and without BSO. We hypothesize that women with BSO will exhibit worse objective and subjective sleep and higher prevalence of clinical sleep disorders than women without BSO.

2)         To explore associations between sleep measures and cognitive function and neuroimaging.  We expect that sleep disruption will be associated with cognitive impairment and imaging evidence of neurodegeneration.