Sleep Dysfunction as a Predictor of Plasma Biomarkers and Cognitive Dysfunction in Parkinson’s Disease

The proposed study utilizes a novel combination of easily generalized sleep measurement through actigraphy tracking, optional polysomnography, full neurocognitive evaluations, and various questionnaires to analyze the relationships between sleep dysfunction, plasma biomarkers, and cognition in PD. Sleep dysfunction is anticipated to predict both amnestic memory and low levels of plasma Aβ and α-syn. Plasma biomarkers have a strong presence in AD related literature (Pase et al., 2019 & Verberk et al., 2020) and are slowly emerging in PD literature. To our knowledge, this study is the first to examine the association between plasma biomarkers, sleep dysfunction, and amnestic memory to identify accessible PD detection and prognostic mechanisms. Further, while many sleep and PD studies utilize cognitive screening, use of a full neurocognitive battery is a strength in the proposed study as it allows for comprehensive evaluation of the multi-domain cognitive dysfunction often detected in PD.