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TUESDAY, Aug. 19 , 2003 (HealthDayNews) -- Aromatherapy and bright-light therapy appear to help Alzheimer's patients sleep better and get less agitated.
Those were the findings of two British studies just presented at the 11th Congress of the International Psychogeriatric Association in Chicago.
The practical applications of the research, which the researchers call preliminary, might be as simple as suggesting that those who have the brain-wasting disease eat breakfast facing a sunny window or that caregivers massage them with aromatherapy skin cream.In the bright-light study, researchers from the Manchester Royal Infirmary in Manchester, England, evaluated 47 nursing home residents who all had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's or other problems that lead to mental confusion, memory loss and dementia.
About half were assigned to the bright-light group and sat in front of a light box for two hours daily for two weeks. The others sat in front of a light box that gave off much dimmer light.
The treatment with the bright light made a difference during the shorter days of winter, says Dr. E. Jayne Byrne, a senior lecturer at the Infirmary and the study's coauthor. "On short days, the treatment group slept longer," she says. Their sleep time was about 38 minutes longer, while the control group's sleep time declined fractionally. The study was done over a year's time and was conducted on short days of winter and longer days of the other seasons.
On short days, those in the bright light group were also less agitated.
"We think the bright light is affecting the circadian rhythm" in a good way, Byrne says, perhaps resetting the rhythm to normal. The circadian rhythm is a 24 hour cycle in a person's body that indicates how all organs function.
More research is needed, Byrne adds, and perhaps a more practical approach than the light box, which required patients to sit in front of it for two hours. Perhaps light visors could give the same result, she says, without the need to sit quietly.
Both Byrne and Harry Allen, the principal investigator, suggest that nursing homes plan daily activities to make good use of daylight, such as serving breakfast in front of a sunny window or scheduling trips to the park during sunny hours.
The aromatherapy study, done by a team at the University of Newcastle in Newcastle upon Tyne, evaluated lemon balm. The researchers applied it daily via brief massage to 36 agitated nursing home residents and applied sunflower oil to another 36 residents who were the control group.
During the four weeks of treatment, 35 percent of those in the lemon balm group showed improvement in agitation scores, compared to only 11 percent of the placebo group, says Elaine Perry, a neurochemical pathology professor at the university.
"It's one of the first studies and very promising," Perry adds. "Like any first report, we would like to see more information before recommending it."
How does aromatherapy, which is the use of natural extracted essences from plants to promote health, work to reduce agitation?
"There are lots of theories," Perry says, noting that one says the essences may act on body systems and substances involved in agitation and mood, such as serotonin.
Perry and her team hope next to do a multicenter trial of aromatherapy and its effect on agitation.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Alzheimer's Association says that this is the kind of research that should be encouraged.
"We need these well-controlled studies," says Bill Thies, vice president of medical and scientific affairs for the association. But he agrees that more study is needed on both topics.
About 4.5 million Americans have the brain disorder called Alzheimer's, in which patients are mentally confused, often agitated and have severe memory problems. The International Psychogeratric Association is made up of health professionals and scientists devoted to geriatric mental health.
More information
For information on sleep and aging, visit the National Sleep Foundation. For information on aromatherapy, visit the National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy.
