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This study is set to investigate whether the use of memantine could be a safer replacement to commonly-prescribed antipsychotic drugs for relieving symptoms of agitation in Alzheimer’s. A previous study, also funded by the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, concluded that antipsychotic medication nearly doubles death risk over three years. The new pilot study will track the activity levels of 100 people with Alzheimer’s using wrist-worn monitors. The resulting data will allow the team to assess levels of sleep disturbance, which they in turn expect to have direct links to increased agitation.

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  • Health/Wellbeing Health/​Wellbeing
  • Medical Research Medical Research
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    • Older People Older People
    • Women & Girls Women & Girls
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    Situation

    Sleep disturbance is a frequent symptom of Alzheimer’s, and people with Alzheimer’s who live in nursing homes often show abnormal patterns of rest and activity across the course of the day. This disturbance of rest-activity rhythm is associated with poorer function during the day, and is difficult to manage for nursing home staff. Despite the importance of rest-activity rhythms to well-being, they are often overlooked as a target for drug treatment. ‘Actigraphy’, monitoring of movement with a lightweight wrist-worn monitor, is a sensitive, economical and naturalistic way of measuring rest-activity rhythms. Agitation is another common and challenging or ‘difficult-to-manage’ symptom of Alzheimer's and may be related to abnormal activity patterns and a disturbed sleep cycle. This study will investigate whether those people with disturbed rest-activity rhythms are more likely to show agitation and other challenging behaviours. They will also investigate whether a drug called memantine is more effective at restoring normal rest-activity rhythms than commonly used neuroleptics drugs. The study will assess 100 individuals with Alzheimer's, as part of a larger study on the effects of memantine, for agitation and other symptoms. The team will monitor rest-activity rhythm for a two-week period using actigraphic monitors, which record levels of movement over a number of days. The scientists expect that those individuals who have a more disturbed rest-activity rhythm will experience greater levels of agitation and other challenging behaviours. They also expect that treatment with memantine will improve rest-activity rhythms as well as being an effective treatment for agitation.

    Solution

    100%
    Categories

  • Health/Wellbeing Health/​Wellbeing
  • Medical Research Medical Research
  • Beneficiaries

    • Older People Older People
    • Women & Girls Women & Girls
    • Other Other