REM Sleep Disturbance Signals Future Neurodegenerative Disease

REM behavior disorder, a sleep disorder, could be a sign of impending neurodegenerative disease, including Parkinson’s and dementia, scientists reported recently. Researchers are not sure why spontaneous and unexplained disturbance in REM sleep should lead to a neurodegenerative disease, but new longitudinal imaging data show a clear correlation between idiopathic REM behavior disorder and dysfunction of the dopamine transporter system involved in a range of vital brain functions. In order to gauge the relationship between the REM sleep disorder and neurodegeneration, scientists performed molecular neuroimaging using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). “Our SPECT study showed a trend toward decreased dopamine transporter density in the brain and Parkinsonism in the follow-up data of patients with REM sleep disorder who had no previous evidence of neurodegenerative disease,” said Hongyoon Choi, MD, a PhD candidate. A total of 21 consecutive patients with no known Parkinsonism or cognitive decline were enrolled in the long-term study between 2004 and 2006 and were followed after about eight years. Results showed that after follow-up, patients’ SPECT scans revealed substantial decreases in radiotracer binding to the dopamine transport system in the nigrostriatal regions of the brain. A total of 10 patients out of the original 21 patients with disturbed REM sleep were found to have decreased striatal tracer binding at the beginning of the study. Of these, seven had developed neurodegenerative disease by follow-up some years later, including four patients who developed Parkinson’s disease and two patients who developed dementia with Lewy bodies. To learn more about the study, click here.