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Sleep disorder linked to Parkinson’s

Respiratory Care Weekly, June 21, 2006

Almost two-thirds of patients with rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (RBD) develop degenerative brain diseases approximately 11 years after diagnosis of the sleep disorder, according to research presented June 19 at the Associated Professional Sleep Societies' SLEEP 2006 meeting. RBD is a sleep disorder in which patients act out their dreams, which are often unpleasant and violent. This acting out results from a loss of normal muscle paralysis in REM sleep, the dream stage, which ordinarily prevents enacting one's dreams. Investigators found that five of 23 patients with RBD developed dementia or Parkinson's disease, and 10 reported neurological symptoms highly suggestive of dementia or Parkinson's disease.

"The danger with RBD is that patients can hurt themselves or their spouses while acting out behaviors-bruises, lacerations, bone fractures, and even subdural hematomas [brain hemorrhages] have been reported," said Maja Tippmann-Peikert, MD, Mayo Clinic sleep medicine specialist, neurologist, and the study's lead researcher. 

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