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Double blind randomised placebo controlled trial of low dose melatonin for sleep disorders in dementia
Author(s) -
Serfaty Marc,
KennellWebb Sandra,
Warner James,
Blizard Robert,
Raven Peter
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
international journal of geriatric psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.28
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1166
pISSN - 0885-6230
DOI - 10.1002/gps.760
Subject(s) - melatonin , dementia , actigraphy , placebo , sleep disorder , medicine , psychology , population , sleep (system call) , randomized controlled trial , circadian rhythm , insomnia , psychiatry , alternative medicine , disease , environmental health , pathology , computer science , operating system
Background Disturbance of sleep is common in individuals with dementia where there may be reversal of the sleep‐wake cycle. People with dementia of the Alzheimer's type have melatonin secretion rhythm disorders. There is some evidence that treatment with exogenous melatonin is an effective treatment for sleep disturbance associated with dementia. A randomised double blind placebo controlled cross over trial was undertaken to test the hypothesis that slow release exogenous melatonin 6 mg improves sleep for people with dementia. Methods Forty‐four participants with DSM‐IV diagnoses of dementia with sleep disturbance were selected for a seven week randomised double blind cross over trial of slow release melatonin 6 mg versus placebo. Sleep parameters were objectively measured using wrist actigraphy. Results Twenty‐five out of 44 completed the trial. Sleep was significantly disturbed in the sample population. Melatonin had no effect on median total time asleep ( n =25, z =1.35, p =0.18), number of awakenings ( n =25, z =0.32, p =0.75) or sleep efficiency ( n =25, z =0.17, p =0.24). Nor were there any carry over effects from melatonin. Conclusions Contrary to previous findings, we found no evidence that two weeks of exogenous melatonin is effective in improving sleep in people with dementia, although possible benefits of melatonin following longer periods of administration cannot be discounted. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.