REM sleep disorder, a precursor to Parkinson’s disease.
Researchers Hospital Clínic de Barcelona-Idibaps showed that isolated rapid eye movement behavior disorder (iRBD) is early stage neurodegenerative diseases associated with the protein alpha-synuclein.
Parkinson’s disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, and multiple system atrophy are some of the synucleinopathies that may occur or be detected early through iRBD, as explained in a statement from the clinic.
The team obtained evidence from a study of post-mortem brain tissue, the first study with a large number of cases to confirm this relationship in a “detailed and definitive manner”, which was published in “The Lancet of Neurology”.
iRBD is a sleep disorder characterized by nightmares and abnormal behavior during sleep, such as screaming or punching associated with REM sleep without muscle relaxation. The same group of researchers previously considered the disorder a precursor to neurodegenerative diseases in a study that began in 2006. However, until now there has been no definitive evidence that could confirm its association with serious disorders such as Parkinson’s disease wave dementia with Lewy bodies.
Early detection of iRBD may help biomarker for the progression of alpha synucleopathy, which is “important for early detection and clinical intervention,” Ep reports.
Moreover, identifying multiple coexisting pathologies opens up “new opportunities” for the development of treatments that target not only alpha-synuclein, but also other pathological proteins.
The study suggests that clinical trials that combine different pathological proteins could become “promising” strategy to prevent or delay the development of Parkinson’s disease and dementia in people with iRBD. “These results are consistent with previous studies suggesting that iRBD may be an early manifestation of synucleinopathies, but this study provides the strongest neuropathological evidence to date,” he explains. Gerard Maya. Additionally, the researchers found that α-synuclein deposits were present not only in neurons but also in glial cells (astrocytes and oligodendrocytes), suggesting that glia also play a key role in disease progression.