Citation

Sullivan SS, Schenck CH, Guilleminault C. Neurology 2012; 79(5): 402-403.

Affiliation

From the Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic and Department of Psychiatry (S.S.S., C.G.), Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA; and the Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders Center (C.H.S.), Department of Psychiatry, Hennepin County Medical Center and University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1212/WNL.0b013e31825dd3c0

PMID

22744669

Abstract

REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) is a parasomnia characterized by loss of normal REM sleep muscle atonia that is usually accompanied by dream enactment.(1) The prevalence of this disorder is unknown, but has been estimated at 0.4%-0.5% among adults. RBD is notable both for its potential for disruption of the sleep milieu by complex and aggressive behaviors with resulting injury, and for its identity as a "preclinical" sign of synuclein-mediated neurodegenerative disease such as Parkinson disease (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). The association with neurodegenerative disease is complex, and some investigators argue that RBD marks a subtype of PD. Until now, the genesis of RBD is most often considered "idiopathic," with little known of potential risk factors for development other than male sex and age greater than 50 years.

Language: en