Sleep-wake cycles in multi-infarct dementia and dementia of the Alzheimer type.
We monitored by actigraphs minute-by-minute activity of 10 patients with multi-infarct dementia (MID), 15 patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT), and 11 control volunteers for eight consecutive 24-hour periods to assess sleep-wake cycles and sleep quality. MID patients had disrupted sleep-wake cycles associated with decreased sleep quality. In contrast, ambulatory DAT patients maintained a relatively normal sleep-wake cycle that did not differ significantly from controls. There was no correlation between the severity of intellectual deterioration and the degree of sleep-wake cycle disintegration in either group of dementia patients.
Aharon-Peretz
J
J
Neurobehavior Unit, Fleiman Geriatric Hospital, Haifa, Israel.
Masiah
A
A
Pillar
T
T
Epstein
R
R
Tzischinsky
O
O
Lavie
P
P
D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015161:Dementia, Multi-Infarct / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012890:Sleep; D012895:Sleep, REM; D014851:Wakefulness