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Galantamine improves sleep quality in patients with dementia

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Abstract

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the influences of cholinesterase inhibitors on sleep pattern and sleep disturbance. A total of 87 mild to moderate stage dementia patients who were not on cholinesterase enzyme inhibitor and memantine treatment were included in the study. The dementia patients were treated with donepezil, galantamine or rivastigmine, depending on the preference of the clinician. Fifty-five dementia patients (63.2 %) completed the study. Twenty-three elderly subjects, who had normal cognitive functions, were included in the study as the control group. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was used for evaluating the sleep quality at the beginning and at the final assessment. The improvement in sleep quality was better with regard to changes in Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores with galantamine treatment compared to the donepezil and the control groups. A significant decrease in Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores was detected in the galantamine group after treatment. Although statistically not significant, rivastigmine decreased and donepezil increased the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores after treatment. Dementia patients who had a poor sleep quality (n: 36), the rate of improvement in sleep disturbance was 81.8 % in the galantamine group, 75 % in the rivastigmine, and 50 % in the donepezil group. Galantamine may be the first choice of cholinesterase inhibitor in mild to moderate dementia patients in terms of improving sleep quality.

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Acknowledgments

Authors would like to thank Senay Oguz for her support and assistance throughout study period.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Standard

The authors declare that they acted in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki. Informed consent for publication was obtained from the patient.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Geriatrics, Department of Internal Medicine, Gulhane School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey

    Mehmet Ilkin Naharci, Ahmet Ozturk, Umit Cintosun, Ergun Bozoglu, Ilker Tasci & Huseyin Doruk

  2. Department of Integrated Medical Sciences, Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL, USA

    Mehmet Ilkin Naharci

  3. Department of Neurology, Mevki Military Hospital, Ankara, Turkey

    Halit Yasar

  4. Department of Epidemiology, Gulhane School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey

    Necmettin Kocak

Authors
  1. Mehmet Ilkin Naharci
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  2. Ahmet Ozturk
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  3. Halit Yasar
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  4. Umit Cintosun
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Correspondence to Mehmet Ilkin Naharci.

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Naharci, M.I., Ozturk, A., Yasar, H. et al. Galantamine improves sleep quality in patients with dementia. Acta Neurol Belg 115, 563–568 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13760-015-0453-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13760-015-0453-9

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