title: Sleep and signs of attention during 3 months of intranasal vasopressin: a pilot study in two elderly subjects.
abstract: Prominent features of aging include a decrease of attention abilities and loss of sleep. Although acute effects of vasopressin (VP) on these functions in the elderly remained inconsistent, beneficial effects of the peptide may develop only with subchronic treatment, which so far has not been tested. This pilot study examined the changes in: i) event-related brain potentials (ERPs) during an attention task, ii) mood, and iii) nocturnal sleep in two healthy elderly subjects during a 3-month period of VP treatment (40 IU/day). The period of VP treatment was preceded and followed by 4-week periods of placebo treatment. ERPs and mood were not consistently affected by VP. However, unexpectedly, VP improved sleep by markedly enhancing nocturnal slow-wave sleep (SWS, p < 0.05). These findings indicate that effects of subchronic treatment with VP involve mechanisms different from those mediating acute effects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Lübeck, Germany.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Perras
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mölle
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Born
authors.forename: H L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Fehm
mesh_terms: D000281:Administration, Intranasal; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D001288:Attention / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012890:Sleep / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D014662:Vasoconstrictor Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D014667:Vasopressins / Q000008:administration & dosage*
chemical_list: D014662:Vasoconstrictor Agents; D014667:Vasopressins