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Biomarkers for REM sleep behavior disorder in idiopathic and narcoleptic patients
Elena Antelmi1,2, Fabio Pizza1,2, Vincenzo Donadio1,2
1Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
Abstract:
To search for discriminating biomarkers, 30 patients with idiopathic rapid-eye-movements sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) were compared with 17 patients with RBD within narcolepsy type 1. Both groups underwent extensive examinations, including skin biopsy searching for phosphorylated α-synuclein deposits and whole-night video-polysomnography. Skin biopsy was positive for phosphorylated α-synuclein deposits in 86.7% of iRBD patients and in none of narcoleptic patients. The analysis of video-polysomnographic motor events showed differences in their occurrence throughout the night in the two groups. iRBD and RBD due to narcolepsy do have different clinical and pathological findings, confirming a different pathophysiology.
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