About this Research Topic
Dementias are among the list of diseases with a prevalence that can run high in the post-pandemic years. The incidence of dementias goes from young and sporadic to those directly related to aging and detrimental health. Some overlapping symptoms are common among
different types of dementia, such as memory loss, difficulties in planning and organizing, loss of motor function, disorientation, hallucinations, and eventually death. However, these symptoms
do not necessarily compromise the diagnosis of the subtypes.
Without a doubt, age is the main factor associated with dementia; however, recently, other factors could have unprecedented relevance in contributing to their manifestation and severity.
The purpose of this Research Topic is to confront the new pieces of evidence that involve unlikely causal factors in the origin of dementia: sex, stress, and sleep. The impact of sex in the risk of any disease has been controversial. Studies in sex differences generate stereotypes;
comparative studies between females and males are commonly under susceptibility. However, several studies demonstrate that sex appears to be a factor of unequal incidence, and the progression of cognitive decline affects one sex more than the other. Stress operates as a cause or effect, having a detriment on the metabolism and general homeostasis. Stress triggered by external factors, like lifestyle or environmental disturbances, or by internal factors, like chronic pain, inflammation, or neuropsychiatric conditions like depression or anxiety, causes an enormous reduction in life quality and disease development. Some studies show that stress associated with dementia is now better understood as allostatic load. The link with the
emergency of dementias is an exciting topic we want to explore. Dysregulation in normal sleep often occurs with age, and it is assumed that regular sleeping is an unlikely event in aged people. Furthermore, young and middle-aged people with poor sleep have more chances of developing dementia-related disorders, suggesting that irregular sleeping could be a cause rather than an effect. To discuss the latest evidence about this relevant topic is our purpose.
We welcome contributions from researchers in the form of Original Research, Reviews, Mini Reviews, and Brief Research Reports compiling emerging evidence on how sleep, stress, and/or sex differences can contribute to the development of dementia. Some topics of interest are (but are not limited to):
- Allostatic load in Alzheimers disease and other dementias
- Cellular and Molecular mechanisms underlying risk factors and their impact on dementia
- Genetics of oxidative stress and their impact on dementia
- Sleep dysregulation in middle and old age and its association with dementia
- Understanding memory and plasticity changes with age
- Synaptic physiology dysfunctions associated with dementia
- Chronic pain perception and the development of neuropsychiatric conditions like dementia
- Social-induced stress factors related to the onset of dementia
- Neurodevelopment and its influence on aging and triggering dementias
- The impact of basal neuropsychiatric conditions on dementia onset
different types of dementia, such as memory loss, difficulties in planning and organizing, loss of motor function, disorientation, hallucinations, and eventually death. However, these symptoms
do not necessarily compromise the diagnosis of the subtypes.
Without a doubt, age is the main factor associated with dementia; however, recently, other factors could have unprecedented relevance in contributing to their manifestation and severity.
The purpose of this Research Topic is to confront the new pieces of evidence that involve unlikely causal factors in the origin of dementia: sex, stress, and sleep. The impact of sex in the risk of any disease has been controversial. Studies in sex differences generate stereotypes;
comparative studies between females and males are commonly under susceptibility. However, several studies demonstrate that sex appears to be a factor of unequal incidence, and the progression of cognitive decline affects one sex more than the other. Stress operates as a cause or effect, having a detriment on the metabolism and general homeostasis. Stress triggered by external factors, like lifestyle or environmental disturbances, or by internal factors, like chronic pain, inflammation, or neuropsychiatric conditions like depression or anxiety, causes an enormous reduction in life quality and disease development. Some studies show that stress associated with dementia is now better understood as allostatic load. The link with the
emergency of dementias is an exciting topic we want to explore. Dysregulation in normal sleep often occurs with age, and it is assumed that regular sleeping is an unlikely event in aged people. Furthermore, young and middle-aged people with poor sleep have more chances of developing dementia-related disorders, suggesting that irregular sleeping could be a cause rather than an effect. To discuss the latest evidence about this relevant topic is our purpose.
We welcome contributions from researchers in the form of Original Research, Reviews, Mini Reviews, and Brief Research Reports compiling emerging evidence on how sleep, stress, and/or sex differences can contribute to the development of dementia. Some topics of interest are (but are not limited to):
- Allostatic load in Alzheimers disease and other dementias
- Cellular and Molecular mechanisms underlying risk factors and their impact on dementia
- Genetics of oxidative stress and their impact on dementia
- Sleep dysregulation in middle and old age and its association with dementia
- Understanding memory and plasticity changes with age
- Synaptic physiology dysfunctions associated with dementia
- Chronic pain perception and the development of neuropsychiatric conditions like dementia
- Social-induced stress factors related to the onset of dementia
- Neurodevelopment and its influence on aging and triggering dementias
- The impact of basal neuropsychiatric conditions on dementia onset
Keywords: sleep, sex, stress
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