Protective brain-cell housekeeping mechanism may also regulate sleep

An important biological mechanism that is thought to protect brain cells from neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's may also be involved in regulating sleep, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The researchers found that a signaling pathway that helps prevent the buildup of abnormal protein aggregates in brain cells is also required for sleep in both fruit flies and zebrafish. The fact that this mechanism is present in two evolutionarily distant species suggests that it may also be present in humans.