Effects of cranial electrical stimulation on sleep disturbances, depressive symptoms, and caregiving appraisal in spousal caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this work was to investigate the effects of cranial electrical stimulation (CES) on sleep disturbances, depressive symptoms, and caregiving appraisal. METHODS: Thirty-eight participants were randomly assigned to receive active CES or sham CES for 4 weeks. RESULTS: Both intervention groups demonstrated improvement in study measures from baseline scores. A trend toward statistically significant differences in daily sleep disturbances was found between the groups. No differences in depressive symptoms and caregiving appraisal were found between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: These findings did not fully support the efficacy of the short-term use of active CES versus sham CES to improve sleep disturbances, depressive symptoms, or caregiving appraisal. Copyright © 2009 by Elsevier Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]