A new study published in the journal Annals of Neurology determined that those who experience a certain time of dreams are more likely to contract early-onset dementia or Parkinson’s.
Lead author Emmanuel During, an associate professor of neurology at New York City’s Mount Sinai School of Medicine, found that people who suffer from a malady known as REM Sleep Behavior Disorder (RSBD) and experience so-called “act out” dreams contract early onset dementia or Parkinson’s “in nearly all cases.” Act-out dreams increase inflammation in a certain part of the brain which produces dopamine. Those afflicted with dementia and Parkinson’s historically have lower supplies of dopamine due to the nerve cells which produce them having died off.
RBD manifests itself in roughly five percent of humans. It includes talking in one’s sleep, violently thrashing around, and feelings of exhaustion the following day. It’s extremely difficult to diagnose because the symptoms often go unnoticed, but During and his team devised an ingenious AI-powered algorithm which analyzes recordings of patients’ sleep tests. “This automated approach could be integrated into clinics during the interpretation of sleep tests to enhance and facilitate diagnosis and avoid missed diagnoses,” During explained.
Out of the 170 patients studied, 80 had RBD; the remaining 90 were a mix between people who suffered from a different sleep disorder and those who had no sleep disorder. In their results, During and his team reported that the technology achieved a success rate of 92 percent, the highest recorded to date. “This method could also be used to inform treatment decisions based on the severity of movements displayed during the sleep tests and, ultimately, help doctors personalize care plans for individual patients,” During concluded.
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