XML Feed for RxPG News   Add RxPG News Headlines to My Yahoo!   Javascript Syndication for RxPG News

Research Health World General
 
  Home
 
   Health
 Aging
 Asian Health
 Events
 Fitness
 Food & Nutrition
 Happiness
 Men's Health
 Mental Health
 Occupational Health
 Parenting
 Public Health
 Sleep Hygiene
 Women's Health
 
   Healthcare
 Africa
 Australia
 Canada Healthcare
 China Healthcare
 India Healthcare
 New Zealand
 South Africa
 UK
 USA
 World Healthcare
 
   Latest Research
 Aging
 Alternative Medicine
 Anaethesia
 Biochemistry
 Biotechnology
 Cancer
 Cardiology
 Clinical Trials
 Cytology
 Dental
 Dermatology
 Embryology
 Endocrinology
 ENT
 Environment
 Epidemiology
 Gastroenterology
 Genetics
 Gynaecology
 Haematology
 Immunology
 Infectious Diseases
 Medicine
 Metabolism
 Microbiology
 Musculoskeletal
 Nephrology
 Neurosciences
  Brain Diseases
  Demyelinating Diseases
  Headache
  Memory
  Neurochemistry
  Neurodegenerative Diseases
   Rett Syndrome
  Regeneration
  Spinal Cord Diseases
  Stroke
  Taste
  Trigeminal Neuralgia
 Obstetrics
 Ophthalmology
 Orthopedics
 Paediatrics
 Pathology
 Pharmacology
 Physiology
 Physiotherapy
 Psychiatry
 Radiology
 Rheumatology
 Sports Medicine
 Surgery
 Toxicology
 Urology
 
   Medical News
 Awards & Prizes
 Epidemics
 Launch
 Opinion
 Professionals
 
   Special Topics
 Ethics
 Euthanasia
 Evolution
 Feature
 Odd Medical News
 Climate
Search

Last Updated: Nov 18, 2006 - 1:55:25 PM

Neurodegenerative Diseases Channel
subscribe to Neurodegenerative Diseases newsletter

Latest Research : Neurosciences : Neurodegenerative Diseases

   DISCUSS   |   EMAIL   |   PRINT
REM sleep disorders can indicate early neurodegeneration
Jun 29, 2006 - 2:00:00 AM, Reviewed by: Dr. Venkat Yelamanchili

According to the results of this study, 20 of these patients (45%), after being correctly diagnosed in the centre and followed up during five years, developed a neurodegenerative disease. This incidence is much higher than what is expected in the general population of the same age and gender. Therefore, scientists drew the conclusion that this disorder permits the early detection of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson�s disease, Lewy body dementia, multiple system atrophy or mild cognitive impairment.

 
The front page of the July 2006 issue of The Lancet Neurology, the journal with the highest international impact, contains a work that shows the relationship between disorders during REM sleep and future neurodegenerative pathologies. This study has been conducted by a Hospital Cl�nic group led by Dr. �lex Iranzo. This study is a good example of the fact that a correct diagnosis of sleep disorders by a specialist group can achieve a high relevancy. This diagnosis is possible in the Hospital Cl�nic thanks to the Multidisciplinary Unit of Sleep Disorders, which is in operation since May 2003, and which consists in 17 specialists from five areas, namely, neurology, psychiatry, psychology, otorhinolaryngology, and pulmonology. This organisation permits a multidisciplinary approach with high resolution tests, department clinical protocols and sessions, with a clear optimisation of resources. The most frequent pathologies treated in this unit are sleep apnoea, snoring, REM sleep behaviour disorders, narcolepsy, night epilepsy or hypersomnia. Only last year, 3,809 visits, 1,819 sleep tests and 40 surgical interventions were made in the unit.

As well as clinical and teaching areas, this unit has high research activity as shown by the study explained below. This work has been led by Dr. �lex Iranzo, member of the Unit of Neurology of Hospital Cl�nic and of the Functional Studies of the Nervous System Group of the Institut d�Investigacions Biom�diques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS). Not only The Lancet Neurology published the work, but also it dedicates the front page to the article, and a reflection by Canadian neurologists Dr. Ronald Postuma (Department of Neurology of the Montreal General Hospital de Qu�bec) and Dr. Jacques Montplaisir (Centre D�Etude du Sommeil in the Hospital du Sacre-Coeur de Montreal).

This article is based in a descriptive study conducted since 1991 in which 44 patients from the Unit of Sleep Disorder of the Hospital Cl�nic were assessed. Given the low incidence of this disorder, the sample of patients studied by this Catalan group is the highest until today. All these patients presented idiopathic REM sleep behaviour disorder. These patients, usually over 60 years, suffer from unpleasant dreams and express uneasiness by screaming, crying, kicking, punching and even falling from their beds.

According to the results of this study, 20 of these patients (45%), after being correctly diagnosed in the centre and followed up during five years, developed a neurodegenerative disease. This incidence is much higher than what is expected in the general population of the same age and gender. Therefore, scientists drew the conclusion that this disorder permits the early detection of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson�s disease, Lewy body dementia, multiple system atrophy or mild cognitive impairment. Furthermore, the fact that the twenty patients who developed a neurodegenerative disease were those who had suffered from REM sleep behaviour disorder for the longest time, suggests that this incidence could be superior in the future.

The importance of these results lie firstly in the future possibility of administrating neuroprotective drugs to patients with the REM sleep behaviour disorder who have still not developed a degenerative disease. Furthermore, the monitoring of these patients will permit an early administration of palliative drugs, which are already available. Toward this end, the Ministry of Health has awarded this group with a FIS award named �Prognostic markers of the development of a neurodegenerative disease in patients affected with REM sleep behaviour disorder�.
 

- July 2006 issue of The Lancet Neurology
 

www.idibaps.ub.edu

 
Subscribe to Neurodegenerative Diseases Newsletter
E-mail Address:

 



Related Neurodegenerative Diseases News
Differences in swallowing mechanism of Rett syndrome patients
Ventricle size increase prior to Alzheimers diagnosis
Improving Cell survival in Huntington's Disease
3-D forms link antibiotic resistance and pantothenate kinase associated neurodegeneration
New biomarkers could help doctors spot neurodegenerative diseases
Nitration Linked to Oxidative Stress Related Damage in Neurodegenerative Disorders
REM sleep disorders can indicate early neurodegeneration
Neurodenegerative diseases mechanisms linked to transport proteins
New Tools Developed for Studying Neurodegenerative Brain Disorders
New Tools Developed for Studying Neurodegenerative Brain Disorders


For any corrections of factual information, to contact the editors or to send any medical news or health news press releases, use feedback form

Top of Page

 

© Copyright 2004 onwards by RxPG Medical Solutions Private Limited
Contact Us