Woods, Diana Lynn, Beck, Cornelia, Sinha, Karabi

Background: Between 75-90% of nursing home (NH) residents with dementia develop behavioral symptoms (BSD) which may be associated with a stress response. Therapeutic touch has been shown to decrease restlessness in NH residents, however the mechanism is unknown. The purpose of this randomized controlled trial (RCT) was to examine the effect of therapeutic touch on […]

Gehrman, Philip R., Connor, Donald J., Martin, Jennifer L., Shochat, Tamar, Corey-Bloom, Jody, Ancoli-Israel, Sonia

Objectives: Patients with Alzheimer dementia often display both agitated behavior and poor sleep. Given that the disease is often associated with low endogenous levels of melatonin, exogenous melatonin administration may lead to improvements in sleep and agitation.; Design: Randomized, placebo-controlled study.; Setting: Nursing homes in San Diego, CA, metropolitan area.; Participants: Subjects were patients with […]

Cooke, Jana R., Ancoli-Israel, Sonia, Liu, Lianqi, Loredo, Jose S., Natarajan, Loki, Palmer, Barton S., He, Feng, Corey-Bloom, Jody

Objective: Patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) experience disrupted sleep. This study examined the effect of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on sleep parameters in AD patients with OSA.; Methods: A randomized placebo-controlled trial of 3 weeks of therapeutic CPAP (tCPAP) vs. 3 weeks placebo CPAP (pCPAP) followed by 3 weeks […]

Most, Els I. S., Scheltens, Philip, Van Someren, Eus J. W.

Background: Depression frequently occurs in the elderly and in patients suffering from dementia. Its cause is largely unknown, but several studies point to a possible contribution of circadian rhythm disturbances. Post-mortem studies on aging, dementia and depression show impaired functioning of the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) which is thought to be involved in the increased prevalence […]