Their activity levels reached a peak earlier in the day than in controls while their body temperature rhythms appeared normal. The findings appear in the April Archives of General Psychiatry. Intriguingly, frontotemporal dementia patients were able to attain a stage of subdued activity, or quiescence, though it did not necessarily happen at night as it did in controls. This more restful state eluded Alzheimer patients. The effects of Alzheimer's disease on memory and cognition are notorious, but the accompanying sleep disturbances are among the most devastating aspects of this and other forms of dementia, including frontotemporal degeneration.
Sleep disturbances are actually more disturbing to caregivers than the cognitive symptoms.
They are often cited as the primary factor behind the decision to institutionalize. Once moved to an unfamiliar institutional setting, Alzheimer patients often suffer a rapid decline. The problem is that doctors have not identified the type of dementia their patients suffer from, said Harper. Based on their study, Harper believes that such chronobiological approaches may be more helpful to Alzheimer patients than those with frontotemporal degeneration. Mixed Signals Harper and his colleagues first began tracking the body temperature and motor activity of the 38 advanced dementia patients, all classified as Alzheimer patients, six years ago.