Kicking and lashing out while asleep could mean you’re more likely to develop dementia or Parkinson’s disease, scientists warn.
They say it could signal a higher risk up to 50 years before diagnosis.
Researchers found a link between people with rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorders and brain conditions many years later.
REM sleep is the stage when people typically dream. Most sleepers are ‘paralysed’ during this stage because the brain shuts off the muscles.
But this doesn’t happen to those with REM disorders, who often act out their dreams with violent movements.
Those with the condition have been known to break a hand, hurt a partner or fall out of bed.
The research published in the medical journal Neurology adds to evidence that certain sleep disorders could be a predictor of brain diseases. This raises the possibility that doctors could one day be able to provide earlier diagnoses.
Study author Dr Bradley Boeve, from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, said: ‘Our findings suggest that in some patients, these conditions have a very long span of activity within the brain and they may also have a long period of time where other symptoms aren’t apparent.’
Using Mayo clinic records, researchers identified 27 people who experienced REM sleep disorders for at least 15 years before developing either Parkinson’s, dementia with Lewy bodies or multiple system atrophy – a disorder similar to Parkinson’s.
The time between the start of the sleep disorder and the symptoms of brain disease ranged up to 50 years, with an average span of 25 years.
But Ruth Sutherland, acting chief executive of the Alzheimer’s Society, said: ‘We don’t yet understand why this correlation exists, and given the small sample size of this study, more research is needed.’
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1298559/Kicking-lashing-sleep-signal-dementia-Parkinsons-disease.html#ixzz179j1henv
They say it could signal a higher risk up to 50 years before diagnosis.
Researchers found a link between people with rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorders and brain conditions many years later.
Dangers: A link has been found by researchers between people with rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorders and brain conditions many years later
But this doesn’t happen to those with REM disorders, who often act out their dreams with violent movements.
Those with the condition have been known to break a hand, hurt a partner or fall out of bed.
The research published in the medical journal Neurology adds to evidence that certain sleep disorders could be a predictor of brain diseases. This raises the possibility that doctors could one day be able to provide earlier diagnoses.
Study author Dr Bradley Boeve, from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, said: ‘Our findings suggest that in some patients, these conditions have a very long span of activity within the brain and they may also have a long period of time where other symptoms aren’t apparent.’
Using Mayo clinic records, researchers identified 27 people who experienced REM sleep disorders for at least 15 years before developing either Parkinson’s, dementia with Lewy bodies or multiple system atrophy – a disorder similar to Parkinson’s.
The time between the start of the sleep disorder and the symptoms of brain disease ranged up to 50 years, with an average span of 25 years.
But Ruth Sutherland, acting chief executive of the Alzheimer’s Society, said: ‘We don’t yet understand why this correlation exists, and given the small sample size of this study, more research is needed.’
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1298559/Kicking-lashing-sleep-signal-dementia-Parkinsons-disease.html#ixzz179j1henv
Kicking and lashing during sleep 'could signal dementia or Parkinson's disease'
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