The effect of sleep-disordered breathing on stages of sleep in patients with Alzheimer's disease.
Patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) commonly have poor sleep and a high reported incidence of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB). This study examined how the presence of SDB affected sleep stages in AD patients. Sixty-six volunteers with mild - moderate AD underwent home polysomnography. Results showed that patients with SDB spent less of the night in REM sleep than those with no SDB, but there were no differences in other sleep stages. The findings suggest that the decreased amount of REM sleep may be due to the presence of AD and SDB. Treating these patients' SDB may increase their amount of REM sleep, which may result in improved daytime functioning. Controlled trials of SDB treatment in AD are needed to answer this question.
Cooke
Jana R
JR
Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, CA, USA.
Liu
Lianqi
L
Natarajan
Loki
L
He
Feng
F
Marler
Matthew
M
Loredo
Jose S
JS
Corey-Bloom
Jody
J
Palmer
Barton W
BW
Greenfield
Deborah
D
Ancoli-Israel
Sonia
S
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012894:Sleep Stages / Q000502:physiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires