Periodic Limb Movements in Sleep linked to decreased hippocampus and amygdala volumes

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12 Oct Periodic Limb Movements in Sleep linked to decreased hippocampus and amygdala volumes

Posted at 03:27h in Blog by admin

Periodic Limb Movements in Sleep linked to decreased hippocampus and amygdala volumes

  • the most consistent predictor of this disorder is age
  • Periodic limb movement in sleep (PLMS) is found to affect up to 30% of middle-aged population, and increases up to 60% in individuals 70 years and older
  • PLMS is more frequent in men, than women
  • most individuals who suffer with Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) will also have PLMS

PLMS is a significant sleep characterised by repetitive, involuntary muscle contractions of legs, occurring mostly in NREM sleep

  • It is suggested abnormal spinal hyperexcitability may be the primary cause of PLMS
  • high resolution MRI has shown increased activity in the red nucleus and the brainstem during involuntary period limb movements, suggesting that activation of subcortical structures can have a disinhibitory effect on spinal pathways, resulting PLMS

PLMS increases sympathetic activity in sleep, associated with increased blood pressure elevations, arousals from sleep, sleep fragmentation and increased sleep disturbance and oxidative stress. Individuals are predisposed to increased risk of developing hypertension and cardiovascular disease.

A population-based BiDirect study has further identified a direct relationship between PLMS index ≥15/hour and hippocampal atrophy (OR: 2.71; 95% C.I.: 1.07 to 6.89; p = 0.036), in a stroke-free community 189 subjects (57.0 ± 7.8 years, women: 50.5%). Significantly lower volumes of the in both hemispheres and of the left amygdala, and importantly was identified independently of over confounding factors. PLMS can often accompany apnoeas and hypopneas during sleep, the results when adjusted for AHI and excluded subjects with moderate or severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), results confirmed that gray matter alterations were unlikely to be caused by OSA.

 

Reference:   Del Brutto, O. H., Mera, R. M., Rumbea, D. A., & Castillo, P. R. (2023). Periodic limb movements in sleep are associated with hippocampal atrophy in stroke-free community-    dwelling older adults. Sleep, zsad088.