INTRODUCTION: Previous research in younger individuals has shown that acetylcholinesterase inhibitors tend to enhance REM sleep. METHODS:Forty-two healthy elderly persons participated in a double-blind placebo-controlled polysomnographic study (parallel group design). RESULTS: The present study indicates that in the elderly persons, donepezil, an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor also exerts a marked effect on REM sleep parameters: REM density was increased whereas REM latency was reduced, thus, confirming the findings of our pilot study described earlier. CONCLUSION: Whether the cholinergic stimulation measured by polysomnography is related to treatment efficacy is a very interesting but an open question. Based on the findings that REM sleep is associated with memory consolidation, the question whether REM sleep augmentation enhances memory performance-as suggested by the findings of the pilot study-seems to be an interesting topic for future research.
RCT Entities:
INTRODUCTION: Previous research in younger individuals has shown that acetylcholinesterase inhibitors tend to enhance REM sleep. METHODS: Forty-two healthy elderly persons participated in a double-blind placebo-controlled polysomnographic study (parallel group design). RESULTS: The present study indicates that in the elderly persons, donepezil, an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor also exerts a marked effect on REM sleep parameters: REM density was increased whereas REM latency was reduced, thus, confirming the findings of our pilot study described earlier. CONCLUSION: Whether the cholinergic stimulation measured by polysomnography is related to treatment efficacy is a very interesting but an open question. Based on the findings that REM sleep is associated with memory consolidation, the question whether REM sleep augmentation enhances memory performance-as suggested by the findings of the pilot study-seems to be an interesting topic for future research.
Authors: Yanru Li; Robert L Owens; Scott Sands; Jeremy Orr; Walter Moraes; Pamela DeYoung; Erik Smales; Rachel Jen; Atul Malhotra Journal: Ann Am Thorac Soc Date: 2016-11
Authors: Stephany Fulda; Christoph P N Romanowski; Andreas Becker; Thomas C Wetter; Mayumi Kimura; Thomas Fenzel Journal: BMC Neurosci Date: 2011-11-02 Impact factor: 3.288