Posted by
EditorR in Friday, June 13th 2008
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Dementia Tags:
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A optimal improvement in dementia symptoms has been linked with the use of bright light in daytime, for the improvement of their circadian rhythms, according to a study released on June 10, 2008 in JAMA. More over, the melatonin is also helpful in improving sleep.
Dementia is a costant decline in cognitive ability with the passage of time, and usually elderly patients suffer from this condition. These symptoms can have many contributing factors, according to the authors: “In elderly patients with dementia, cognitive decline is frequently increase by disturbances of mood, behavior, sleep, and activities of daily routine life, which enhance caregiver burden and the risk of institutionalization.”
Several biological processes in many organisms recur within 24 hours that is referred as a circadian rhythm. Although this rhythm is internal but it can be affected by various factors including the presence or absense of daylight. In humans, melatonin levels considered to be the yard stick in measuring the circadian cycle, and sometimes melatonin is used to maintain a regular rhythm. Abnormalities of imbalanced rhythms are quite familiar which include jet lag and Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD.)
According to the authors, the circadian rhythm can also be
linked with the symptoms of dementia in the elderly stage: “The circadian timing system is extremely sensitive to environmental light and the melatonin hormone may not function properly in the absence of their synchronizing effects. In elderly patients with dementia, synchronization may be abolished if light exposure and melatonin production is reduced from certain level.” …Click here to read more