New research on sleep disorders and Parkinson's

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/laneur/article/PIIS1474-4422(11)70152-1/abstract

"This study followed individuals with an established diagnosis of REM Sleep Behaviour Disorder (RBD) and shows that in proportion of them the appearance of their DaTSCANs (a scan used to look for evidence of reduced dopamine in the brain) changes towards an appearance seen in Parkinson's. RBD has previously been found to be a risk factor for Parkinson's and other degenerative conditions of the neurological system. Further work is needed to determine how RBD could be used to identify these diseases at an earlier stage."