2023-05-27 18:00:00
This is a breakthrough for people who suffer from rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder, a sleep disorder where the sleeping person reacts to their dreams in real life.
Researchers have indeed identified a potential treatment to help these people who act out their dreams by making vocal sounds or making sudden and violent movements of the arms and legs during their sleep, which can lead to significant injuries for them. themselves or for their bed partners.
Restless dreams: the tau protein in question?
The new study, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, conducted on mice, describes that this REM sleep behavior disorder has its source in a mechanism of degeneration of brain cells that lose their function over time.
This neurodegeneration is associated with the buildup of tau protein, a protein that normally helps stabilize the internal skeleton of nerve cells in the brain. This mechanism would therefore be an early biomarker of the imminent deterioration of the brain in this specific disorder.
This protein is already incriminated in many dementias, including Alzheimer’s disease or even metabolic disorders such as obesity or diabetes, indicates Inserm.
Insomnia medication decreases restless dreams
And that’s not all ! Through their work, researchers may have found a way to treat this disorder. This is because the drugs commonly used to treat insomnia, known asdual orexin receptor antagonistswould be an effective treatment option, according to the study authors.
After administering it twice during a 24-hour period to assess the sleep of mice monitored in the light and dark phases, the researchers observed several benefits. The drug not only reduced the time it took to fall asleep and increased both quality and duration of sleep, but it also reduced levels of dream acting.
Current treatment options for this disorder are mostly limited to melatonin and clonazepam, also known as Klonopin, so these results suggest a promising new treatment with potentially fewer side effects, the authors explain.
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