Researchers have identified a link between REM (rapid eye movement) behavior sleep disorder and neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's, according to research results presented at the 2017 Canadian Neuroscience Meeting in Montreal from May 28-31.
REM sleep behavior disorder is characterized as physically engaging during dreams. Physical actions associated with the disorder include sleep talking, shouting, screaming, hitting or punching.
"We observed that more than 80 percent of people who suffer from REM sleep disorder eventually develop synucleinopathies, such as Parkinson's disease and Lewy bodies dementia," said John Peever, PhD, a professor in the department of cell systems and biology at the University of Toronto. "Our research suggests sleep disorders may be an early warning sign for diseases that may appear some fifteen years later in life."
To read a press release about the research, click here.
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