HEALTH NOTES: Sleep aid won’t help the elderly

A popular NHS treatment for Britain’s most common sleep disorder does nothing to help older sufferers, a new study has found.

Patients over the age of 80 with sleep apnoea, which causes people to stop breathing repeatedly throughout the night, saw no improvement after undergoing continuous positive airway pressure, also known as CPAP.

The technique uses a stream of air, delivered through a mask, to keep a person’s airway open, allowing them to breathe continuously throughout the night.

Previous studies have shown CPAP can significantly reduce sleepiness, depression, and high blood pressure, all of which are brought on by lack of rest due to sleep apnoea.

It is often prescribed on the NHS for the more than 1.5 million Britons who suffer from the condition.

But researchers at the University of Missouri in the US, found that, when given to patients over 80, CPAP did not improve any of the above conditions.

The study’s authors, who observed more than 350 participants over the age of 70, said this was most likely because older adults have a combination of disorders that affect their sleep, which CPAP cannot address.

They also noted that those over the age of 80 were less inclined to stick to the therapy long-term. 

Five prunes a day beat brittle bones

Eating prunes could help to prevent brittle-bone disease in older women, new research suggests

Eating prunes could help to prevent brittle-bone disease in older women, new research suggests.

Osteoporosis, as it is known, occurs when people lose bone density, increasing the risk of breaks.

It is more common in post-menopausal women than in any other group. Previous studies suggest this is because low levels of oestrogen can lead to inflammation in the bones.

But scientists at Penn State University in the US found that eating about five prunes a day notably reduced the risk of osteoporosis developing in women over 50.

While researchers are still unsure why this occurs, one argument is that prunes affect bacteria in the gut, which in turn lowers levels of inflammation in the body.

Watching TV before bedtime may lead to a better night’s sleep.

Previous studies have suggested that activities such as scrolling on a phone before bed can disrupt sleep patterns.

But a study carried out by researchers at the University of Delaware in the US, and published in the Journal Of Sleep Research, found that people who looked at a screen for less than a hour before bed were more likely to go to bed earlier than those who did not, and that they also slept for longer. 

A simple eye test could diagnose Alzheimer’s years before it develops.

Scientists at the University of Otago in New Zealand identified areas of the eye where early signs of damage indicate the onset of the degenerative brain condition.

The study, which analysed the eyes of 865 participants, all aged 45, found that those with damaged retinal nerve fibre and ganglion cell layers were more likely to have experienced a decline in their ability to process information from childhood to adulthood, an early sign of Alzheimer’s.