PHOENIX: Alzheimer’s disease could be treated with a sleeping pill, according to new research.
Experiments on mice with dementia found small doses of commonly prescribed tranquillisers called benzodiazepines, which include diazepam and lorazepam, improved their sleep and improved brain function.
Alzheimer’s patients frequently suffer from sleep disorders, mostly even before they become forgetful, and the animal model showed these can be relieved with medication.
Ironically, taking benzodiazepines for five years or more has been linked to an increased risk of dementia and the results are just a first step on the way to a suitable therapy…