Effects of night shifts in bipolar disorders and extreme morningness.

Background: Night work and shift work scenarios are increasing in modern society. Instability in the sleep-wake rhythm is an important risk factor for triggering episodes of bipolar disorder. Extreme chronotype has negative effects on shift work ("shift-worker syndrome").

Daytime impairment and neurodegeneration in OSAS.

Controversy surrounds the pathogenesis of neurocognitive daytime dysfunction exhibited by patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). Underlying brain dysfunctions and damage have long been suspected as a cause of some of this impairment. Neuroimaging has enabled scientists to test these long-held theories.

Electrophoretic separation of amyloid beta peptides in plasma.

In this prospective study, for the first time we have separated and quantified amyloid beta (Abeta) peptides in the plasma of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD, n = 8) and age- and environment-matched healthy controls (n = 9) with urea-based Abeta-sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE)/immunoblot. In addition to the Abeta peptides 1-37/38/39/40/42, which we recently identified as regular constituents of human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), we have observed a novel electrophoretic band migrating slightly cathodically to Abeta1-42. Since a standard peptide with the amino acid sequence Abeta2-40 migrates in the same position, we hypothesize that this plasma-specific band may correspond to Abeta2-40.