A latest study by University of Toronto shows that a sleep disorder that make people act out in their dreams can best predict brain diseases such as Parkinson's.
The Rapid-eye-movement sleep disorder (RBD) is an important warning sign of neurodegeneration that causes brain disease, researchers explain. "In fact, as many as 80 to 90 per cent of people with RBD will develop a brain disease," said associate professor and lead author, John Peever.
Researchers explain that the disorder mostly causes people to act out their dreams, often resulting in injury to themselves and or to other people sleeping around. Peever states that muscles are temporarily paralysed in healthy brains during sleep to prevent this from happening.
"It's important for clinicians to recognize RBD as a potential indication of brain disease in order to diagnose patients at an earlier stage," said Peever in a press release. "This is important because drugs that reduce neurodegeneration could be used in RBD patients to prevent (or protect) them from developing more severe degenerative disorders."
According to him, neurodegeneration initially targets areas of the brain that control sleep before attacking in the regions that cause more common brain diseases like Alzheimer's.
A report released by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that insufficient sleep was a public health pandemic. It further said that people who get less sleep are prone to chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, depression, and obesity, as well as from cancer, increased mortality, and reduced quality of life and productivity.
An estimated 50 to 70 million U.S. adults have sleep or wakefulness disorder with snoring is a major indicator of obstructive sleep apnea.
Peever said he hopes this study results lead to more effective treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.
The research is published online in the latest issue of 'Trends in Neuroscience.'
