They confirm that REM sleep disorder is a precursor to Parkinson’s disease.

Researchers from the Barcelona Clinic-IDIBAPS have proven that the disorder isolated behavior during REM sleepwhich is characterized by nightmares and abnormal behavior, is an early stage of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson.

The study, published in The Lancet Neurology, is the first to detail the connection between this isolated sleep behavior disorderwith rapid eye movement (iRBD) and α-synuclein accumulation.

This protein is involved in the development of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, dementia with Lewy bodies and multiple system atrophy (MSA).

According to the Hospital Clinic, the evidence was obtained as a result of a detailed study postmortem brain and spinal cord of 20 patients diagnosed with iRBD.

Results show a ‘clear’ link between iRBD and accumulation α-synuclein in several areas of the brain, so researchers view this as “a very early sign of neurodegeneration,” the clinic emphasized.

In this sense, the study shows that early detection of iRBD can serve as a key biomarker for progression to α-synucleinopathies (diseases in which abnormal deposition of this protein is common), which is important for early detection and clinical intervention.

Studyingwhich was supported by the BBVA Foundation and the Joan Rodes and Josep Bazelga Hospital of Barcelona Clinic under a prospective research contract, under the supervision of Dr. Alex Iranzo, head of the Sleep Disorders Unit at the Clinic and head of the Clinical Neurophysiology Group at IDIBAPS. , together with Dr. Gerard Maia, a neurologist and researcher on the same team.

He iRBD – sleep disorder characterized by nightmares and abnormal sleep behavior, such as screaming or punching, associated with REM sleep without muscle relaxation.

Previously, this disorder was considered a precursor neurodegenerative diseases by the same group of researchers as part of a study begun in 2006.

However, until now there has been no conclusive evidence confirming its connection with serious disorders

such as Parkinson’s disease or dementia with Lewy bodies.