Clinical assessment of sleep disorders in elders with Alzheimer’s disease and their relationship with intracranial pressure using a non‐invasive method

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundLiterature establishes that sleep disorders (SD) possess strong correlations with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) derivations and the more resources are found to perform assessments, the better and earlier diagnoses can be performed. Thus, allowing early interventions that could improve the quality of life of the person with AD. This study aims at verifying whether there are alterations in the intracranial pressure (ICP) of elder patients with AD and SD when compared to elders patients with AD but without SD.MethodThe sample was obtained in the Ambulatory of Cognitive‐Behavioural Neurology (ANEC) at UFSCar, in partnership with BrainCare® company, which developed a new method for non‐invasive intracranial pressure measurement.ResultMost of the sample was composed of females. The most frequent CDR was 3 in the AD Group, indicating a more advanced dementia stage. When analyzing the full group, without subdivisions, a correlation between T2/T1 (p=0,01/ρ=‐0,42) was verified as dimensions that assessed night behavior. More specifically, when the elders were questioned about awakening several times at night and if they had the habit of rising up during the night (p=0,04/ρ=‐0,36). No correlations were found between the ICP assessments and other variables of this study. However, when the subjects were subdivided into patients with SD or without SD, the results were different compared to the general assessment.ConclusionDue to the novelty of this study, it was not possible to discuss the findings with previous literature. Nevertheless, the study presents a limitation related to the size of the sample; a widening of the sample size would possibly have led to different findings. Although no difference between patients with AD and TS was found in the assessment of the ICP morphology, there was a difference between the groups with AD and without AD. Similar studies should consider expansion and evaluation within different contexts.