An exploratory study of sleep-wake differences of autonomic activity in patients with mild cognitive impairment : the role of melatonin as a modulating factor

• Autores: Abulafia, Carolina Andrea; Vidal, María F.; Olivar, Natividad; Odzak, Andrea; Brusco, Ignacio; Guinjoan, Salvador M.; Cardinali, Daniel Pedro; Vigo, Daniel E.
• Año de publicación: 2023
• Idioma: inglés
• Tipo de recurso: artículo
• Fuente: Clinical Interventions in Aging. Vol.18, 2023
• Materia: DETERIORO COGNITIVO LEVE; MELATONINA; ACTIGRAFIA; SUEÑO; RITMO CIRCADIANO; TRASTORNOS DEL SUEÑO
• Institución: Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina

Fil: Abulafia, Carolina Andrea. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas. Laboratorio de Cronofisiología; Argentina
Fil: Abulafia, Carolina Andrea. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Psicología; Argentina
Fil: Vidal, María F. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia. 3Servicio de Psiquiatría, Departamento de Neurología; Argentina
Fil: Olivar, Natividad. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Clínicas “José de San Martín”; Argentina
Fil: Odzak, Andrea. Hospital Argerich. Servicio de Clínica Médica; Argentina
Fil: Brusco, Ignacio. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Clínicas “José de San Martín”; Argentina
Fil: Brusco, Ignacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina
Fil: Guinjoan, Salvador M. Laureate Institute for Brain Research; Estados Unidos
Fil: Cardinali, Daniel Pedro. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas; Argentina
Fil: Vigo, Daniel E. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas. Laboratorio de Cronofisiología; Argentina
Fil: Vigo, Daniel E. Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences; Bélgica
Abstract: Purpose: The objective of the present study was to assess sleep-wake differences of autonomic activity in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) compared to control subjects. As a post-hoc objective, we sought to evaluate the mediating effect of melatonin on this association. Patients and Methods: A total of 22 MCI patients (13 under melatonin treatment) and 12 control subjects were included in this study. Sleep-wake periods were identified by actigraphy and 24hr-heart rate variability measures were obtained to study sleep-wake autonomic activity. Results: MCI patients did not show any significant differences in sleep-wake autonomic activity when compared to control subjects. Post-hoc analyses revealed that MCI patients not taking melatonin displayed lower parasympathetic sleep-wake amplitude than controls not taking melatonin (RMSSD −7 ± 1 vs 4 ± 4, p = 0.004). In addition, we observed that melatonin treatment was associated with greater parasympathetic activity during sleep (VLF 15.5 ± 0.1 vs 15.1 ± 0.1, p = 0.010) and in sleep-wake differences in MCI patients (VLF 0.5 ± 0.1 vs 0.2 ± 0.0, p = 0.004). Conclusion: These preliminary findings hint at a possible sleep-related parasympathetic vulnerability in patients at prodromal stages of dementia as well as a potential protective effect of exogenous melatonin in this population.