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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Sleep Sci 2024; 17(02): e199-e202
DOI: 10.1055/s-0043-1777783
Short Communication

Associations between Sleep Quality and Serum Levels of Neurofilament Light in Individuals with Premanifest Huntington Disease

Mitchell Turner
1   Centre for Precision Health, Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA, Australia
2   School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA, Australia
,
Danielle Bartlett 
2   School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA, Australia
,
Govinda Poudel
3   Mary Mackillop Institute for Health Research, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
,
Pauline Zaenker
1   Centre for Precision Health, Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA, Australia
2   School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA, Australia
,
Simon Laws
1   Centre for Precision Health, Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA, Australia
2   School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA, Australia
,
Johnny Lo
4   School of Science, Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA, Australia
,
Mel Ziman
2   School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA, Australia
,
Travis Cruickshank
1   Centre for Precision Health, Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA, Australia
2   School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA, Australia
5   Perron Institute for Neurological and Translational Sciences, Perth, WA, Australia
› Author Affiliations Funding The authors declare that the present research was funded by Lotterywest under grant number 107/20090827.
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Abstract

Objectives To evaluate the associations between sleep quality and serum levels of neurofilament light (NfL) protein in individuals with premanifest Huntington disease (HD).

Materials and Methods We recruited 28 individuals with premanifest HD from a pre-existing database (of the Huntington's Environmental Research Optimisation Scheme, HEROs). The participants filled out the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), a subjective measure of sleep quality, and blood was collected via routine venepuncture to measure peripheral NfL levels.

Results The PSQI scores (median: 5.0; interquartile range: 4.0–7.5) indicated poor sleep quality. General linear modelling revealed no significant (p = 0.242) association between PSQI scores and NfL levels. No significant differences were found between individuals with good and poor sleep quality for any demographic variable collected.

Discussion Contrary to studies on other neurological conditions, there was no association between sleep quality and NfL levels in individuals with premanifest HD. This was unexpected, given the influence of environmental factors (such as social network size) on neurodegeneration in individuals with premanifest HD.

Keywords

sleep quality - Huntington disease - neurofilament proteins


Publication History

Received: 02 February 2023

Accepted: 11 September 2023

Article published online:
15 February 2024

© 2024. Brazilian Sleep Association. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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