Friday 26 August 2016

Brain imaging findings in idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) - A systematic review on potential biomarkers for neurodegeneration

RBD cohorts are one of the best candidate groups for neuroprotective trials in PD (if sufficient case numbers are be identified)... robust imaging biomarkers that predict the neurodegenerative disease diagnosis that follows (i.e. PD, DLB or MSA) and the likely time course of that will be very valuable, and may mean reductions in the overall numbers that are required for clinical trials to have adequate statistical power....

Sleep Med Rev. 2016 Jun 25. pii: S1087-0792(16)30057-0. doi: 10.1016/j.smrv.2016.06.006. [Epub ahead of print]
Heller J, Brcina N, Dogan I, Holtbernd F, Romanzetti S, Schulz JB, Schiefer J, Reetz K.



Idiopathic rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (RBD) is a parasomnia characterized by the loss of physiological atonia of skeletal muscles with abnormal behavior during dream sleep. RBD may be the initial manifestation of neurodegenerative diseases, particularly of α-synucleinopathies such as Parkinson's disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and multiple system atrophy (MSA). However, gauging the individual risk of subsequent phenoconversion and making assumptions on the type of disease that may subsequently follow RBD is challenging. Over the past years, a growing number of studies have sought to establish reliable neuroimaging markers to detect neurodegenerative brain changes in RBD subjects at the earliest possible stage. The present review summarizes recent advances in brain imaging in RBD and provides recommendations for the application of currently available structural and functional neuroimaging modalities to monitor disease progression and risk of subsequent phenoconversion. Further imaging research applying multimodal approaches is encouraged to enhance accuracy of prognoses. Additionally, more longitudinal studies are warranted to validate findings from cross-sectional studies on RBD progression and risk of subsequent phenoconversion. Aside from enabling reliable prognoses on a single-subject-level in the near future, this might give further insight into RBD pathophysiology, and finally augment the development of intervention strategies and disease-modifying therapies.

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