Sleep Disorders in Patients with Dementia in Parkinson’s Disease

Abstract

Dementia and psychotic diseases represent a common complication of Parkinson’s disease (PD), occurring in 40–70% of cases. These complications are commonly accompanied by sleep disorders, which constitute non-motor manifestations of PD. The aims of the present work were to assess the relationship between the severity of daytime drowsiness and REM sleep behavior disorder on the one hand and the severity of cognitive deficits and hallucinations on the other; to compare methods for assessing sleep impairments in Parkinson’s disease using questionnaires and polysomnograms; and to evaluate the effects of treatment with galantamine in sleep disorders. A number of scales (MMSE, FAB, ESS, PDSS), as well as polysomnographic investigations, were used to assess sleep and cognitive functions in 26 patients with PD with dementia before and after treatment with galantamine. The results revealed a significant negative correlation between the severity of sleep disorders (increased daytime drowsiness and REM sleep behavior disorder) with hallucinations and cognitive deficits. Treatment with galantamine produced significant improvements in the quality of nocturnal sleep (restoration of its structure, decreased fragmentation), with reductions in the severity of REM sleep behavior disorder and decreases in daytime drowsiness, along with reductions in cognitive deficits and hallucinations.