UCLA

Sleep and circadian rhythm disturbances are common features of Huntington’s disease (HD). Since the daily feed/fast cycle is a powerful entrainer of the circadian clock, we implemented a time-restricted feeding (TRF) protocol, which limits food availability to 6h during the mid-active phase, as a tool to improve outputs of a dysfunctional clock. Electroencephalography (EEG) was used to measure sleep/wake states and EEG patterns in the BACHD mouse model of HD. Our findings show that male, but not female, BACHD mice display disrupted sleep/wake architecture and sleep fragmentation early in the disease. The delta and gamma frequency bands in the EEG were altered in male, but not female, BACHD mice when compared to their WT counterparts. TRF was sufficient to improve the sleep/wake cycle and induce changes in the EEG in male and female BACHD mice. These findings suggest that TRF can improve early HD symptoms and delay disease progression.