Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors and sleep architecture in patients with Alzheimer's disease.
OBJECTIVE
Studies suggest that some acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEIs) increase rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and nightmares in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) but few have studied their effect on other sleep parameters. The objective of this study was to examine differences in sleep architecture in AD patients taking different AChEIs.


METHODS
76 participants (51 men, 25 women) [mean age = 78.2 years; SD = 7.7] with mild to moderate AD underwent medication history screening as well as polysomnography to determine the percentage of each sleep stage. Participants were divided into groups based on AChEI used: donepezil (n = 41), galantamine (n = 15), rivastigmine (n = 8) or no AChEI (n = 12). General univariate linear model analyses were performed.


RESULTS
AChEI therapy had a significant effect on the percentage of stage 1 (p = 0.01) and stage 2 (p = 0.03) sleep. Patients in the donepezil group had a significantly lower percentage of stage 1 sleep than patients in the galantamine group (mean = 17.3%, SD = 11.7 vs 29.2%, SD = 15.0, respectively; p = 0.01), but there was no significant difference between the donepezil group and the rivastigmine (mean = 25.0%, SD = 12.3) or no AChEI groups (mean = 27.6%, SD = 17.7) in this respect. No significant differences in percentage of stage 1 between other groups were seen. Patients in the donepezil group also had a significantly higher percentage of stage 2 sleep than patients in the no AChEI group (mean = 63.6%, SD = 14.4 vs 51.4%, SD = 16.9, respectively; p = 0.04), but there was no significant difference between the donepezil group and either the galantamine group (mean = 56.5%, SD = 8.7) or the rivastigmine group (mean = 59.9%, SD = 8.4). There were no significant differences between groups in terms of percentage REM sleep or other sleep parameters.


CONCLUSIONS
Subgroups of AD patients (classified according to AChEI treatment) in this study differed with respect to the amount of stage 1 and stage 2 sleep experienced, with the donepezil-treated group having the lowest percentage of stage 1 sleep and the highest percentage of stage 2 sleep. There was no significant difference in the amount of REM sleep between the groups. Our data suggest that sleep architecture may be affected by the use of donepezil in patients with AD. Although not elicited in this study because of the small sample size, there may be a class effect of AChEIs on sleep architecture. Double-blind, placebo-controlled studies are needed to better understand causality and the effect of each AChEI on sleep architecture in patients with AD.
Cooke
Jana R
JR
Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, California, USA.
Loredo
Jose S
JS
Liu
Lianqi
L
Marler
Matthew
M
Corey-Bloom
Jody
J
Fiorentino
Lavinia
L
Harrison
Tamara
T
Ancoli-Israel
Sonia
S
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000077265:Donepezil; D005260:Female; D005702:Galantamine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007189:Indans / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D048448:Phenylcarbamates / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010880:Piperidines / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017286:Polysomnography; D000068836:Rivastigmine; D012894:Sleep Stages / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000503:physiopathology
D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors; D007189:Indans; D048448:Phenylcarbamates; D010880:Piperidines; D005702:Galantamine; D000077265:Donepezil; D000068836:Rivastigmine