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Association of rapid eye movement sleep latency with multimodal biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease
Jiangli Jin, Jiong Chen, Clémence Cavaillès, Kristine S. Yaffe, Joseph R. Winer, Laura S Stankeviciute, Brendan P. Lucey, Xiao Zhou et al.. Alzheimer s & Dementia, 2025-01-27
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
After adjusting for demographics, apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 status, cognition, and comorbidities, the highest tertile of REM latency was associated with higher Aβ burden (β = 0.08, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.03 to 0.13, p = 0.002), elevated p-tau181 (β = 0.19, 95% CI: 0.02 to 0.13, p = 0.002), and reduced BDNF levels (β = -0.47, 95% CI: -0.68 to -0.13, p = 0.013), compared to the lowest tertile. Prolonged REM latency may serve as a novel marker or risk factor for AD/ADRD pathogenesis. HIGHLIGHTS: Rapid eye movement latency (REML) may be a potential marker for Alzheimer's disease and Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD) pathogenesis. Prolonged REML was associated with higher amyloid beta (Aβ) burden, phosphorylated tau-181 (p-tau181), and lower brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels. Intervention trial is needed to determine if targeting REML can modify AD/ADRD risk. Slow-wave sleep was not associated with AD/ADRD biomarkers.
Key findings
- After adjusting for demographics, apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 status, cognition, and comorbidities, the highest tertile of REM latency was associated with higher Aβ burden (β = 0.08, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.03 to 0.13, p = 0.002), elevated p-tau181 (β = 0.19, 95% CI: 0.02 to 0.13, p = 0.002), and reduced BDNF levels (β = -0.47, 95% CI: -0.68 to -0.13, p = 0.013), compared to the lowest tertile.
- Prolonged REM latency may serve as a novel marker or risk factor for AD/ADRD pathogenesis.
- HIGHLIGHTS: Rapid eye movement latency (REML) may be a potential marker for Alzheimer's disease and Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD) pathogenesis.
- Prolonged REML was associated with higher amyloid beta (Aβ) burden, phosphorylated tau-181 (p-tau181), and lower brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels.
- Intervention trial is needed to determine if targeting REML can modify AD/ADRD risk.
Why it matters
Longer REM sleep latency was associated with higher amyloid burden, higher p-tau181, and lower BDNF levels, suggesting it could be a marker or risk factor for Alzheimer's and related dementias. The authors state that a trial is needed to find out whether targeting REM latency can change dementia risk.
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Study details
- Participants128
- Effect size56.9%
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 56/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Alzheimer s & Dementia) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Alzheimer s & Dementia: journal h-index 228 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 128 participants |
| Effect reported | 2 / 3 | Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 3 / 7 | Cited 38 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 12.7 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 24.1× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 1 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 38 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Yue Leng: h-index 32 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | Stanford University: institution h-index 2,684 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 9 institution(s) in 3 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 39868572) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 56 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Jin, J., Chen, J., Cavaillès, C., Yaffe, K. S., Winer, J. R., Stankeviciute, L. S., et al. (2025). Association of rapid eye movement sleep latency with multimodal biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer s & Dementia. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.14495
Vancouver
Jin J, Chen J, Cavaillès C, Yaffe KS, Winer JR, Stankeviciute LS, et al. Association of rapid eye movement sleep latency with multimodal biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer s & Dementia. 2025. doi:10.1002/alz.14495. PMID: 39868572.
BibTeX
@article{jin2025-39868572,
author = {Jin, Jiangli and Chen, Jiong and Cavaillès, Clémence and Yaffe, Kristine S. and Winer, Joseph R. and Stankeviciute, Laura S and Lucey, Brendan P. and Zhou, Xiao and others},
title = {{Association of rapid eye movement sleep latency with multimodal biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Alzheimer s \& Dementia},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1002/alz.14495},
pmid = {39868572},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.14495}
}
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