Henry M, et al. - In patients with Addison's disease (AD), researchers examined relations between sleep quality, particularly as measured by polysomnographic equipment, and night-time cortisol concentrations. For this investigation, they used sleep-adapted EEG to monitor a full night of sleep in 7 patients with AD and 7 healthy controls. Findings revealed that patients with AD showed different patterns of night-time cortisol concentrations to healthy controls and that relatively elevated concentrations were related to a reduction of slow-wave sleep (SWS). Results of this study suggested that these hormonal and sleep architectural aberrations might disrupt the routine sleep-dependent processes of memory consolidation. Hence may explain, at least partially, the memory impairments often experienced by patients with AD.