Brain atrophy in Parkinson’s disease with PSG-confirmed REM sleep behaviour disorder

The presence of REM sleep behaviour disorder (RBD) in Parkinson’s disease (PD) is associated with a more severe and aggressive clinical phenotype. REM sleep behaviour disorder (RBD) is characterized by abnormal muscle tone and motor manifestations during REM sleep.¹ RBD affects 33% to 46% of Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients according to studies using polysomnography (PSG),^2,3 which is mandatory for RBD diagnosis.¹

Performed surface-based structural analyses (T1 weighted images & voxel and deformation based morphometry) to investigate the abnormalities in cortical thickness and subcortical shape associated with RBD. Thirty Parkinson’s disease patients, including 15 patients with RBD, were recruited and compared to 41 healthy controls.

PD patients with RBD had extensive cortical abnormalities and shape contraction in the putamen. REM sleep without atonia was also associated in PD with abnormal thalamic shape, extensive cortical thinning, and subtle volume reduction in the temporal region.

Citation:

Shady Rahayel, Malo Gaubert, Ronald B Postuma, Jacques Montplaisir, Julie Carrier, Oury Monchi, David Rémillard-Pelchat, Pierre-Alexandre Bourgouin, Michel Panisset, Sylvain Chouinard, Sven Joubert, Jean-François Gagnon; Brain atrophy in Parkinson’s disease with polysomnography-confirmed REM sleep behavior disorder, Sleep, , zsz062, https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsz062

References:

1. American Academy of Sleep Medicine. The International Classification of Sleep Disorders — Third Edition (ICSD-3). Darien, IL: American Academy of Sleep Medicine; 2014.
2. Gagnon JF, Bédard MA, Fantini ML, et al. REM sleep behavior disorder and REM sleep without atonia in Parkinson’s disease. Neurology. 2002; 59 (4): 585-589.
3. Sixel-Döring F, Trautmann E, Mollenhauer B, Trenkwalder C. Associated factors for REM sleep behavior disorder in Parkinson disease. Neurology. 2011;77 (11): 1048-1054.