Insomnia and somnolence in idiopathic RBD: a prospective cohort study

Abstract

Sleep disorders: Predicting neurodegenerative disease Neither daytime sleepiness nor insomnia predict neurodegenerative disease in patients with REM (rapid eye movement) sleep behavior disorder (RBD). Patients with RBD provide unique insights into the early symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD) as around 80% of them develop neurodegenerative disease. Previous studies in RBD patients have shown that loss of olfaction and abnormal color vision significantly increase the risk of developing neurodegenerative disease. To identify other predictive markers of neurodegeneration, Canadian researchers led by Jacques Y. Montplaisir assessed the sleeping patterns and behavior of 151 RBD patients over 11 years. Although patients reported more sleep disturbances than healthy controls, these changes did not predict whether they developed neurodegenerative disease. Interestingly, neither insomnia nor somnolence worsened over time in patients with RBD and small increases in sleep duration and reduced insomnia were reported by those that went on to develop neurodegenerative disease.