CLOCK Genetic Variations Are Associated With Age-Related Changes in Sleep Duration and Brain Volume.

Background: Although a connection between sleep disruption and brain aging has been documented, biological mechanisms need to be further clarified. Intriguingly, aging is associated with circadian rhythm and/or sleep dysfunction in a key gene regulating circadian rhythm, Circadian Locomotor Output Cycles Kaput (CLOCK), has been linked to both aging-related sleep disturbances and neurodegenerative diseases. This study aims to investigate how CLOCK genetic variation associates with sleep duration changes and/or volumetric brain alteration.

Cerebellar White Matter Abnormalities in Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease: A Combined Volumetry and Diffusion Tensor Imaging Analysis.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) is a genetically heterogeneous hereditary peripheral neuropathy. Brain volumetry and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) were performed in 47 controls and 47 CMT patients with duplication ( = 10), ( = 15), ( = 11), or mutations ( = 11) to investigate for structural changes in the cerebellum. Volume of cerebellar white matter (WM) was significantly reduced in CMT patients with mutations.

Sleep Duration, Sleep Apnea, and Gray Matter Volume.

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of sleep duration on brain structures in the presence versus absence of sleep apnea in middle-aged and older individuals. The study investigated a population-based sample of 2,560 individuals, aged 49-80 years. The presence of sleep apnea and self-reported sleep duration were examined in relation to gray matter volume (GMV) in total and lobar brain regions.

Longitudinal diffusion changes in prodromal and early HD: Evidence of white-matter tract deterioration.

Introduction: Huntington's disease (HD) is a genetic neurodegenerative disorder that primarily affects striatal neurons. Striatal volume loss is present years before clinical diagnosis; however, white matter degradation may also occur prior to diagnosis. Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) can measure microstructural changes associated with degeneration that precede macrostructural changes.