The CBS News (6/2, Kraft) website reports that a study published in the June issue of the journal Nature Neuroscience “suggests that a good night’s sleep may play an important role in helping protect the brain against memory decline associated with Alzheimer’s.” In a study involving 26 older adults who were cognitively normal, investigators “found that a deficit in deep non-REM sleep, a sleep cycle associated with memory retention, was associated with a higher risk of buildup of brain proteins which are believed to play a role in triggering Alzheimer’s disease.” In turn, that “buildup of toxic beta-amyloid proteins in the brain then leads to further sleep deprivation.”

TIME (6/2, Park) reports that “the higher amount of amyloid and the disturbed sleep were also associated with worse performance on simple paired-word memory tests, which the researchers gave the volunteers both before and after a night’s sleep.”

HealthDay (6/2) points out that the “26 mentally healthy adults ages 70 to 79” recruited for the study “underwent brain imaging to assess plaque buildup, and were asked to remember pairs of words before and after a night’s sleep.” While participants slept “overnight, researchers measured their brain waves, and the next day they conducted MRI scans during the memory testing.”

Related Links:

— “Poor sleep may contribute to Alzheimer’s disease,” Amy Craft, CBS News, June 1, 2015.

HealthDay (6/2, Dallas) reports that the results of a 900-participant study published June 1 in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention suggests that “the emotional health of cancer caregivers may affect the mental health of the loved ones they are caring for.” The study found that “when their husbands, wives or partners experience symptoms of depression, cancer survivors are more likely to develop depression themselves, say researchers at the US National Cancer Institute (NCI).”

Related Links:

— “Cancer Patient’s Health Affected by Spouse’s Mood,” Mary Elizabeth Dallas, HealthDay, June 1, 2015.

US News & World Report (6/2, Olivero) reports that “pediatric healthcare [professionals] are playing an expanded role in screening” for postpartum depression in new mothers as “research underscores the importance of healthy mother-baby relationships to an infant’s brain development.” The American Academy of Pediatrics “recommends universal surveillance and screening of postpartum depression by pediatric care [professionals], and national health care quality measures now include maternal depression,” US News reports. Insurers are also beginning to cover for screening of postpartum depression.

Related Links:

— “How Pediatricians are Helping Moms With Postpartum Depression,” Magaly Olivero, U.S. News & World Report, June 1, 2015.

HealthDay (6/1, Preidt) reports that according to “a large review” involving 42 studies, patients in the intensive care unit “who develop delirium have a higher risk of death, longer hospital stays and are more likely to have mental impairment after leaving the hospital.” Study authors said delirium is more common in elderly patients as well as “patients with preexisting mental impairments and the terminally ill.” The study was published May 31 in the British Medcal Journal.

Related Links:

— “ICU Delirium Tied to Higher Death Risk, Study Says,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, May 31, 2015.

The KQED-TV (5/30, Dornhelm) “State of Health” blog reported that new CMS “guidelines stipulate that nursing homes are graded on the percent of their dementia patients receiving antipsychotic medications,” a grade that “becomes part of their rating on Nursing Home Compare.” Reducing antipsychotic use “requires new approaches and retraining staff.” The article cited examples of “patient-centered care, which means being attentive to the cues people give and trying to understand what is bothering them even if they can’t communicate it directly.”

Related Links:

— “Calming Dementia Patients Without Powerful Drugs,” Rachel Dornhelm, Kaiser Health News, May 29, 2015.