The effect of donepezil on sleep in elderly, healthy persons: a double-blind placebo-controlled study

Previous research in younger individuals has shown that acetylcholinesterase inhibitors tend to enhance REM sleep.

Forty-two healthy elderly persons participated in a double-blind placebo-controlled polysomnographic study (parallel group design).

The present study indicates that in the elderly persons, donepezil, an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor also exerts a marked effect on REM sleep parameters: REM density was increased whereas REM latency was reduced, thus, confirming the findings of our pilot study described earlier.

Whether the cholinergic stimulation measured by polysomnography is related to treatment efficacy is a very interesting but an open question. Based on the findings that REM sleep is associated with memory consolidation, the question whether REM sleep augmentation enhances memory performance-as suggested by the findings of the pilot study-seems to be an interesting topic for future research.