Estradiol Influences Adenosinergic Signaling and NREM Sleep Need in Adult Female Rats

In Situ Mass Spectrometry Imaging to Elucidate the Effects of an Adenosine A2A Receptor Agonist and Alprazolam on Sleep Regulation

Alprazolam (Alp), a commonly used sleep medication in clinical practice, has several potential limitations, including a narrow therapeutic dosage range and a delayed sleep onset. CGS21680 (CGS), a selective agonist of the adenosine A2A receptor, exhibits neuroinhibitory properties. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of CGS on the sleep properties of Alp. The sleep-inducing effects of Alp were assessed through the righting reflex, while the sedative effects of CGS were evaluated by spontaneous activity detection. The synergistic effect of CGS on Alp was evaluated by using electroencephalography and electromyography. The results indicate that we optimized and selected ED5 dose of Alp and ED50 dose of CGS for coadministration. CGS reduced the sleep latency induced by Alp and extended the sleep duration. The distribution of Alp in the brain was assessed through mass spectrometry imaging (MSI). The blood-brain barrier (BBB) model was established to evaluate the impact of CGS on the transmittance of Alp. The results indicated that CGS influenced the distribution of Alp across various brain regions and increased Alp's transmittance across the BBB. The metabolic pathways of GABA, glutamate, and glutamine were assessed through MSI and enzyme activity verification. The coadministration of Alp and CGS resulted in the regulation of GABA, glutamate, and glutamine during the sleep latency and sleep maintenance periods, respectively. In conclusion, the potentiating effect of CGS on the sleep-inducing properties of Alp is attributed to its ability to modulate the distribution of Alp in the brain by enhancing BBB permeability and its influence on Alp-induced neurotransmitter release.

Association of Sleep Duration With Serum Estradiol Concentrations Among American Men and Women: Evidence From NHANES 2013-2016

Objective: To evaluate the association between sleep duration with serum estradiol concentrations and its variation by sex and age in American adults. Methods: Data were analyzed for 5406 men and women (≥ 20 years old) who participated in the cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2013-2016, a cross-sectional study. Total estradiol (pg/mL) was measured and categorized (low, normal, and high) based on the NHANES protocol. Sleep duration was classified as ≤ 6, 6-9, and ≥ 9 h. Weighted multivariable adjusted and multinomial logistic regression models were conducted to assess these associations. Results: Our multivariable multinomial logistic regression analysis revealed no significant associations between sleep duration and serum estradiol concentrations among both American men and women. Specifically, comparisons of sleep durations (≤ 6 and ≥ 9 h) to the reference group (6-9 h) across various age categories showed odds ratios for low and high estradiol concentrations that remained statistically nonsignificant in fully adjusted models. These findings suggest that, unlike previous studies linking sleep duration with variations in other hormones, estradiol concentrations do not appear to be significantly affected by differences in sleep duration in either sex across all age groups studied. Conclusion: The lack of significant associations between sleep duration and serum estradiol concentrations indicates that sleep duration may not influence estradiol levels in the general population of American men and women. These results underscore the importance of continued research into how sleep influences hormonal balance. However, it is important to note that the NHANES data we used are from a cross-sectional study, which cannot establish a causal relationship between sleep duration and serum estradiol. Future studies should investigate additional factors, such as genetic predispositions, lifestyle habits, and environmental influences, that may modulate the relationship between sleep and hormone levels.

Data-driven mathematical modeling of sleep consolidation in early childhood

Across early childhood development, sleep behavior transitions from a biphasic pattern (a daytime nap and nighttime sleep) to a monophasic pattern (only nighttime sleep). The transition to consolidated nighttime sleep, which occurs in most children between 2- and 5-years-old, is a major developmental milestone and reflects interactions between the developing homeostatic sleep drive and circadian system. Using a physiologically-based mathematical model of the sleep-wake regulatory network constrained by observational and experimental data from preschool-aged participants, we analyze how developmentally-mediated changes in the homeostatic sleep drive may contribute to the transition from napping to non-napping sleep patterns. We establish baseline behavior by identifying parameter sets that model typical 2-year-old napping behavior and 5-year-old non-napping behavior. Then we vary six model parameters associated with the dynamics of and sensitivity to the homeostatic sleep drive between the 2-year-old and 5-year-old parameter values to induce the transition from biphasic to monophasic sleep. We analyze the individual contributions of these parameters to sleep patterning by independently varying their age-dependent developmental trajectories. Parameters vary according to distinct evolution curves and produce bifurcation sequences representing various ages of transition onset, transition durations, and transitional sleep patterns. Finally, we consider the ability of napping and non-napping light schedules to reinforce napping or promote a transition to consolidated sleep, respectively. These modeling results provide insight into the role of the homeostatic sleep drive in promoting interindividual variability in developmentally-mediated transitions in sleep behavior and lay foundations for the identification of light- or behavior-based interventions that promote healthy sleep consolidation in early childhood.

Optimizing sleep across the menopausal transition

Women frequently experience sleep disturbances, particularly night-time awakenings, as they transition menopause and enter postmenopause. Sleep is essential for optimal functioning and health. Persistent and distressing sleep disturbances across menopause can negatively impact daytime functioning and productivity, and increase risk for mental and physical health conditions. While multiple factors can disturb sleep, two unique factors in the context of menopause are vasomotor symptoms and the changing reproductive hormone environment. Vasomotor symptoms are associated with sleep disturbances and contribute significantly to awakenings and amount of time spent awake during the night. Even after accounting for vasomotor and depressive symptoms, lower estradiol and higher follicle stimulating hormone levels, indicative of menopause, are associated with sleep disturbance, particularly awakenings, suggesting that the hormone environment may directly affect sleep. Management strategies for clinically significant menopausal sleep disturbances include cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, which is effective and durable in treating menopausal insomnia. Hormone therapy alleviates sleep disturbances, particularly in the presence of disruptive vasomotor symptoms. Sleep disturbances have a significant impact on women's functioning and health, and there is a need for further research of the underlying mechanisms to advance effective preventative and treatment strategies that ensure optimal health and well-being of midlife women.

The stress of losing sleep: Sex-specific neurobiological outcomes

Sleep is a vital and evolutionarily conserved process, critical to daily functioning and homeostatic balance. Losing sleep is inherently stressful and leads to numerous detrimental physiological outcomes. Despite sleep disturbances affecting everyone, women and female rodents are often excluded or underrepresented in clinical and pre-clinical studies. Advancing our understanding of the role of biological sex in the responses to sleep loss stands to greatly improve our ability to understand and treat health consequences of insufficient sleep. As such, this review discusses sex differences in response to sleep deprivation, with a focus on the sympathetic nervous system stress response and activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. We review sex differences in several stress-related consequences of sleep loss, including inflammation, learning and memory deficits, and mood related changes. Focusing on women's health, we discuss the effects of sleep deprivation during the peripartum period. In closing, we present neurobiological mechanisms, including the contribution of sex hormones, orexins, circadian timing systems, and astrocytic neuromodulation, that may underlie potential sex differences in sleep deprivation responses.

Molecular targets and mechanisms involved in the action of Banxia Shumi decoction in insomnia treatment

Insomnia is a common sleep-wake rhythm disorder, which is closely associated with the occurrence of many serious diseases. Recent researches suggest that circadian rhythms play an important role in regulating sleep duration and sleep quality. Banxia Shumi decoction (BSXM) is a well-known Chinese formula used to treat insomnia in China. However, the overall molecular mechanism behind this therapeutic effect has not yet been fully elucidated. This study aimed to identify the molecular targets and mechanisms involved in the action of BSXM during the treatment of insomnia. Using network pharmacology and molecular docking methods, we investigated the molecular targets and underlying mechanisms of action of BSXM in insomnia therapy. We identified 8 active compounds from Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform and the traditional Chinese medicine integrative database that corresponded to 26 target genes involved in insomnia treatment. The compound-differentially expressed genes of the BXSM network indicated that cavidine and gondoic acid could potentially become key components of drugs used for insomnia treatment. Further analysis revealed that GSK3B, MAPK14, IGF1R, CCL5, and BCL2L11 were core targets significantly associated with the circadian clock. Pathway enrichment analysis of Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes revealed that epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance was the most prominently enriched pathway for BSXM in the insomnia treatment. The forkhead box O signaling pathway was also found to be significantly enriched. These targets were validated using the Gene Expression Omnibus dataset. Molecular docking studies were performed to confirm the binding of cavidine and gondoic acid to the identified core targets. To our knowledge, our study confirmed for the first time that the multi-component, multi-target, and multi-pathway characteristics of BXSM may be the potential mechanism for treating insomnia with respect to the circadian clock gene. The results of this study provided theoretical guidance for researchers to further explore its mechanism of action.