2023-05-30 08:50:19
REM Sleep Behavior Disorder Linked to Lewy Body Dementia
During sleep, they may toss and turn or talk in their sleep, but they do not move as they would normally do. However, there is a disease that shows excessive movement while sleeping. It’s REM sleep behavior disorder. This disease appears to be associated with dementia.
REM sleep is the dreaming stage of sleep. At this time, if you move in response to the situation presented in the dream, you may be injured. Because of this, while you sleep, your body organs go into a resting mode.
REM sleep is a light sleep stage, and the brain rhythms are similar to when you are awake. However, muscle movements are temporarily paralyzed. On the other hand, if you have REM sleep behavior disorder, muscle movements are not inhibited, so you can do the same in reality as you did in your dream. Not to mention talking or shouting, but also punching or kicking.
It affects 1% of the world’s population, so it’s not that rare. It occurs in 2% of adults over 65 years of age. A lot of people get injured as a result of this. According to a study by the University of Minnesota Medical School in the US, 60% of patients with this disorder and 20% of bed-sharing partners are injured while sleeping.
REM sleep behavior disorder can occur at any age, but it tends to occur especially following the age of 40 or 50. Taking antidepressants is the most common cause in people under the age of 30. In addition to taking antidepressants, people in their 40s and older are also associated with obstructive sleep apnea, narcolepsy (sleepiness), mental illness, autoimmune disorders, and brain lesions.
This behavioral disorder also has features that occur before the onset of dementia. It is related to neurodegenerative diseases in which alpha-synuclein aggregates, a protein, accumulate in brain cells. Such neurodegenerative diseases include Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia. REM Sleep Behavior Disorder may precede or appear concurrently with these diseases.
In a long-term follow-up study of 1280 patients with substantially REM sleep behavior disorder, there is a research report that 73.5% of patients showed neurodegenerative diseases following 12 years.
There are currently no approved therapies that can help patients with REM sleep behavior disorder prevent neurodegenerative diseases. There are reports that drugs such as melatonin and clonazepam can improve symptoms.
Although the causal relationship between REM sleep behavior disorder and dementia has not been clarified, since it is a disease that precedes dementia, polysomnography is needed to determine the degree of behavioral disorder and treatment to improve symptoms with drug therapy is needed. Along with medication, it is also important to create a safe sleeping environment. Avoid putting breakable items near your bed, and put a mat on the floor to prevent injuries.
Even without REM sleep behavior disorder, sleep deprivation itself is also associated with dementia risk. If REM sleep behavior disorder is associated with Lewy body dementia, sleep deprivation is associated with Alzheimer’s dementia. Lack of sleep is known to impair cognitive functions such as memory and concentration, so it is important to maintain proper sleep by avoiding activities that interfere with sleep and creating a sleep environment in which you can fall asleep.
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