Mood, cognition and sleep patterns improve in Alzheimer's patients after cataract surgery

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-10/aaoo-mc101911.php

Public release date: 25-Oct-2011
Contact: Mary Wade
American Academy of Ophthalmology
Mood, cognition and sleep patterns improve in Alzheimer's patients after cataract surgery
First-of-its-kind study reported at American Academy of Ophthalmology 2011 Annual Meeting

ORLANDO, Fla. –October 25, 2011 — Researchers at Tenon Hospital, Paris, France, found that patients with mild Alzheimer's disease whose vision improved after cataract surgery also showed improvement in cognitive ability, mood, sleep patterns and other behaviors. Lead researcher Brigitte Girard, MD, will discuss her team's results today at the American Academy of Ophthalmology's 2011 Annual Meeting.

This is the first study to specifically assess whether cataract surgery could benefit Alzheimer's patients, although earlier research had shown that poor vision is related to impaired mood and thinking skills in older people and that cataract surgery could improve their quality of life. Thirty-eight patients, average age 85 and all exhibiting mild dementia due to Alzheimer's disease, completed Dr. Girard's study. All participants had debilitating cataract in at least one eye and were appropriately treated with standard cataract surgery and implantation of intraocular lenses, which replace the eyes' natural lenses in order to provide vision correction. After surgery, distance and near vision improved dramatically in all but one of the Alzheimer's patients.

[...]

Sleep patterns improved and night time behavior problems decreased in most study patients. Other studies have shown that when cataracts are removed, levels of the sleep-regulating hormone melatonin become normalized. Dr. Girard notes that this may have been a key factor in the Alzheimer's patients' improved sleep patterns.

..