RESUMO
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the sleep structure in patients with vascular cognitive impairment-no dementia (VCI-ND) and its differences from that of normal individuals.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The whole night sleep record of 20 patients with VCI-ND were monitored by 32-head video-taped polysomnographic system, and the results were compared with the data of 20 normal subjects.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with normal subjects, patients with VCI-ND showed significantly reduced total sleep duration, increased waking times, increased stage 1 sleep, decreased stage 2 sleep, decreased stage 3 sleep, decreased rapid eye movement stage (REM) and reduced sleep efficiency.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Increased light sleep as well as decreased slow-wave stage 3-4 sleep and decreased REM stage may be a specific electroneurophysiologic marker for VCI-ND, but large-sampled multi-centered randomized controlled trial is necessary to test the validity of these features as specific markers for screening and early diagnostic purposes.</p>
