Sleep Disorder May Be Early Sign of Dementia or Parkinson’s Disease

The sleep disorder is called REM sleep behavior disorder. People with the disorder do not have the normal lack of muscle tone that occurs during REM sleep, often known as the dream stage of sleep. Instead, they have excessive muscle activity such as punching, kicking, or crying out, essentially acting out their dreams.

The study involved 93 people with this type of sleep disorder who had no signs of a neurodegenerative disease, such as dementia or Parkinson’s disease. The participants were followed for an average of five years. During that time, 26 of the people developed a neurodegenerative disease. Fourteen developed Parkinson’s disease, 11 developed dementia and were diagnosed with either Alzheimer’s disease or Lewy body dementia. One person developed multiple system atrophy, a rare disorder that affects movement, blood pressure and other body functions.

The estimated five-year risk of developing a neurodegenerative disease was 18 percent, with the 10-year risk at 41 percent and the 12-year risk at 52 percent.

“These results are obviously of great interest to people who have this sleep disorder and their physicians and families,” said study author Ronald B. Postuma, MD of McGill University in Montreal, Canada, who carried out the studies at the sleep disorders center at the Sacre Coeur hospital, University of Montreal. Postuma is also a member of the American Academy of Neurology. “The results may help us better understand how these neurodegenerative diseases develop. They also suggest that there may be an opportunity for protecting against the progression to disease, perhaps even preventing it before the symptoms can appear.”

Postuma noted that the study involved only people with no known cause for the REM sleep behavior disorder. The disorder can also be caused by narcolepsy or rare brainstem abnormalities. REM sleep disorder from these causes does not necessarily carry the risk of developing a neurodegenerative disease, he said.

The study was supported by grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the FRSQ (Fonds de la recherché en santé du Quebec) in Montreal, Canada.

The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 21,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to improving patient care through education and research. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Parkinson’s disease, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), dementia, West Nile virus, and ataxia.

Media Contact

Rachel Seroka Academy of Neurology

All latest news from the category: Health and Medicine

This subject area encompasses research and studies in the field of human medicine.

Among the wide-ranging list of topics covered here are anesthesiology, anatomy, surgery, human genetics, hygiene and environmental medicine, internal medicine, neurology, pharmacology, physiology, urology and dental medicine.

Back to home

Comments (0)

Write a comment

Newest articles

Lighting up the future

New multidisciplinary research from the University of St Andrews could lead to more efficient televisions, computer screens and lighting. Researchers at the Organic Semiconductor Centre in the School of Physics and…

Researchers crack sugarcane’s complex genetic code

Sweet success: Scientists created a highly accurate reference genome for one of the most important modern crops and found a rare example of how genes confer disease resistance in plants….

Evolution of the most powerful ocean current on Earth

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current plays an important part in global overturning circulation, the exchange of heat and CO2 between the ocean and atmosphere, and the stability of Antarctica’s ice sheets….

Partners & Sponsors