This course was presented in person at World Sleep 2025 in Singapore.

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Session Schedule

Find a specific presentation in the course by navigating to the timestamp indicated below.

0:00:00
Introduction
Aleks Videnovic (United States)
Mei Sian Chong (Singapore)

0:02:00
Sleep and rhythms in healthy aging
Minjee Kim (United States)

0:39:35
Association between sleep and cognition in older adults
Shuo Qin (Singapore)

1:17:15
Question and answer

1:44:20
Sleep and rhythms in dementias
Brendan Lucey (United States)

2:25:10
Obstructive sleep apnea in older adults
Naricha Chirakalwasan (Thailand)

3:04:40
Question and answer

3:31:30
Science year in review
Murat Aksu (Turkey)

3:59:00
REM sleep behavior disorder
Yun Kwok Wing (Hong Kong)

4:39:30
RBD and disease modification of synucleinopathies
Aleks Videnovic (United States)

5:16:30
Question and answer

5:37:35
Sleep and circadian disturbances in Parkinson’s disease
Claudio Liguori (Italy)

6:16:40
Glymphatic system: Relevance for healthy aging and neurodegeneration
Ambra Stefani (Austria)

6:52:20
Question and answer

7:06:30
Clinical case vignettes
Murat Aksu (Turkey)
Claudio Liguori (Italy)

7:22:00
Closing remarks
Aleks Videnovic (United States)
Mei Sian Chong (Singapore)

Course Summary:

In this full day course, an overview about current knowledge on the link between sleep, aging and neurodegeneration will be discussed. The first half of the course will touch upon associations of ageing and sleep disorders.  The in-depth bidirectional relationship between disturbed sleep or short sleep on the one side, and the risk and course of dementia over short and long term on the other side, will be discussed. The second half of the course will discuss sleep and neurodegenerative disorders; with RBD as an early window into alpha-synucleinopathy and RBD prodromal states.  After this course, attendees will be able to evaluate, discuss appropriate diagnostic steps, patient counselling, symptomatic treatment, and further investigations in older adults presenting with sleep disorders (with or without cognitive impairment).

Learning Objectives:

Upon completion of this CME activity, participants will be able to:
•  Identify sleep changes associated with aging, including decreased sleep “ability” often secondary to medical and psychiatric illnesses and circadian rhythm changes
• Analyze associations between sleep and cognition in older adults, incorporating both self-reported and objective measures of sleep
• Evaluate the bi-directional relationship between sleep and Alzheimer’s disease (AD), including therapeutic potentials and challenges in addressing sleep disturbances to delay or prevent AD onset
• Explain how obstructive sleep apnea may present differently in older adults and outline its therapeutic implications
• Examine the latest studies and advances in the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders
• Demonstrate how to diagnose and quantify REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) and its associated conditions
• Assess RBD as a reliable risk factor for identifying prodromal stages of alpha-synucleinopathies and summarize potential targets for disease-modifying treatments
• Describe the mechanistic interplay between sleep and disease to inform the development of circadian rhythm-targeted therapeutic treatments
• Investigate the pathophysiological processes involved in aging and neurodegenerative diseases, focusing on the glymphatic system’s role, dysfunction, prevention, and treatment aspects
• Apply insights gained from case vignettes commonly encountered in clinical practice to improve diagnostic and treatment strategies