Idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder raises risk of dementia, Parkinson’s
Researchers have discovered that three-quarters of patients with idiopathic rapid eye movement (REM) sleep disorder behavior have a high risk of suffering from neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and dementia, Seoul National University Hospital said Thursday.
Professor Jung Ki-young
The researchers concluded so after a long-term follow-up study on idiopathic REM sleep disorder patients diagnosed by neurologists at 24 centers in 11 countries.
Professor Jung Ki-young of the department of neurology at the hospital was the only co-researcher from Asia to participate in the study, conducted mainly by medical institutions in North America and Europe.
REM sleep is a single phase of sleep distinguishable by a random or rapid movement of the eyes, accompanied by low muscle tone throughout the body, and the propensity of the sleeper to dream vividly. During REM sleep, it is normal for the muscles to relax and not move. However, muscles for patients with idiopathic REM sleep disorder are tense and not relaxed, which makes patients reproduce their dream behavior in real life.
Such are the reasons why trauma is frequent, while the prevalence rate of the total population suffering from idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder is about 0.38 to 0.5 percent and 2.01 percent in the elderly population.
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