March 26, 2013

REM Sleep Behavior Disorder Could Predict Dementia With Lewy Bodies, Study Finds

By Logan Lafferty

Researchers from the Mayo Clinic found that when a man has a risk factor for dementia with Lewy bodies (such as hallucinations or cognitive problems) in addition to REM sleep behavior disorder, he is five times more likely to have the dementia…"While it is, of course, true that not everyone who has this sleep disorder develops dementia with Lewy bodies, as many as 75 to 80 percent of men with dementia with Lewy bodies in our Mayo database did experience REM sleep behavior disorder. So it is a very powerful marker for the disease," study researcher Melissa Murray, Ph.D., a neuroscientist at Mayo Clinic, said in a statement.

 

Huffington Post by Amanda Chan

Tags: Dr. Melissa Murray, Huffington Post, Lewy Body Dementia, Neurology, REM sleep, REM sleep behavior disorder, Research, Sleep Medicine

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