A sleep disorder sign of future brain disease

Many of us have had dreams where we’re being chased for example, but if you constantly find that you are vigorously moving your legs or flailing your arms while dreaming, that could be an indication of a future degenerative brain disease.

John Peever (PhD) is associate professor in  the University of Toronto’s Cell and Systems Biology department, and director of the Centre for Circadian Biology and Cognitions

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Normally in REM sleep (rapid eye movement, or dream sleep) the brain shuts down signals to the muscles (atonia) so there is little to no movement.

With the condition-albeit fairly rare- known as “REM sleep Behaviour Disorder” (RBD) the signals to muscles are not shut off, and the person may “act out” the dreams, kicking their legs as if running, or flailing arms if they are dreaming of fighting off an attacker.

The latest research, a follow-up of earlier work in the USA, indicates that a strong majority of those with this disorder, some 80-90 percent are very likely to experience other degenerative brain disorders (synucleinopathies)  a few years later, such as Parkinson’s disease, or Alzheimers.

Professor Peever is lead author of the research team from Canada and France with the work published in the latest edition of Trends in Neuroscience.

The link indicates that some of these neurodegenerative diseases may actually begin deep with the brain in the area controlling sleep atonia-the restriction of muscle movement- before spreading to other areas of the brain in the form of such diseases as Parkinsons.

RBD seems to mostly affect men starting in middle age.

Professor Peever says beside the immediate concern of physical harm to the person and their partners sleeping beside them, diagnosing this symptom early can lead to treatment towards mitigating neurodegenerative diseases in later years or delaying, and perhaps even preventing their onset.