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Dynamic Digital Biomarkers of Motor and Cognitive Function in Parkinson's Disease
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Characterization of motor events in REM sleep behavior disorder

Paulo Bugalho1,2, Tânia Lampreia3, Rita Miguel3

  • 1Department of Neurology, Hospital de Egas Moniz (CHLO), Centro Hospitalar de Lisboa Ocidental, Rua da Junqueira, 126, 1349-019, Lisbon, Portugal. paulobugalho@sapo.pt.

Journal of Neural Transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996)
|July 20, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Motor events in REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) are typically simple and non-violent, occurring mainly in the upper limbs. These characteristics are similar in Parkinson's disease (PD-RBD) and idiopathic (iRBD) cases, suggesting motor dysfunction doesn't alter event features.

Area of Science:

  • Neurology
  • Sleep Medicine
  • Movement Disorders

Background:

  • REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) involves acting out dreams, with motor events (ME) potentially causing injury.
  • Understanding the nature of ME in idiopathic RBD (iRBD) versus Parkinson's disease with RBD (PD-RBD) is crucial for patient safety and understanding disease mechanisms.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To characterize the features of motor events (ME) during REM sleep in patients with idiopathic RBD (iRBD) and Parkinson's disease with RBD (PD-RBD).
  • To compare ME characteristics between iRBD and PD-RBD groups to identify potential differences related to underlying motor dysfunction.

Main Methods:

  • Video-polysomnography was employed to record and analyze motor events in 18 iRBD and 14 PD-RBD patients.
  • Motor events were analyzed for location (limbs, trunk), complexity (simple/complex), emotional valence, and focality.

Main Results:

  • Motor events predominantly involved the upper limbs and were generally simple, non-emotional, distal, and focal.
  • No significant differences in the characteristics of motor events were observed between the iRBD and PD-RBD groups.
  • The findings suggest that motor events in RBD are typically non-violent in nature.

Conclusions:

  • Motor events in REM sleep behavior disorder are predominantly simple and confined to the limbs, indicating a generally non-violent manifestation.
  • The similarity in motor event features between idiopathic RBD and Parkinson's disease with RBD suggests that the specific motor dysfunction in Parkinson's disease does not significantly alter the phenomenology of REM sleep motor events.
Keywords:
Parkinson’s diseaseREM sleep behavior disorderREM sleep motor events

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