New Delhi, May 30 || Sleeping disorders may be act as an early indicator of neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia (LBD) -- a type of dementia, according to a study.
The study focussed on patients with Rapid eye movement behaviour disorder -- a sleep disorder where individuals physically act out their dreams during the rapid eye movement (REM) stage of sleep.
"Normally, when we're asleep and dreaming, our muscles are paralysed, but around age 50, some people become very agitated during sleep and start punching, kicking and screaming," said Shady Rahayel, a medical professor at Université de Montréal in Canada.
Unlike sleepwalking, which occurs during slow-wave sleep, RBD occurs during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, he added, and it affects people of middle age.
In the study, published in the journal eBioMedicine, the researchers said that nearly 90 per cent of people with the disorder will go on to develop either Parkinson's disease or LBD.
“RBD is an early warning sign that certain mechanisms in the brain are no longer working as they should," said the team.