Posted on 07/29/2011 9:46:26 AM PDT by decimon
Patients suffering REM sleep behaviour disorders dream nightmares in which they are attacked and pursued, with the particularity that they express them by screaming, crying, punching and kicking while sleeping. Lancet Neurology has published the third consecutive work in five years about the relationship between this disorder and Parkinson’s disease. The first work showed in 2006 that 45% of patients who suffer this sleep disorder develop Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases caused by a lack of dopamine in the brain. The second article discovered that neuroimaging tests that measure dopamine in the brain, such as the brain SPECT, are useful to identify patients with REM sleep disorders with increased risk of developing a neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease.
The new study applied brain SPECT to conclude that the levels of dopamine in the brain are quickly lowering over the years in patients with REM sleep behaviour disorder. This neuroimaging technique becomes the first tool to detect the disease progression at an early stage. The first author of the three articles is Dr. Àlex Iranzo, doctor from the Neurology Service at the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona, researcher at the Biomedical Research Institute of August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS) and member of the Multidisciplinary Sleep Disorders Unit , and the senior authors were to Dr. Joan Santamaria and Dr. Eduard Tolosa, from the same institution.
(Excerpt) Read more at blog.hospitalclinic.org ...
Two bits of advice I came across as a child that virtually eliminated normal bad dreams: 1) Most nightmares stem from having a full bladder. I found that to be true. The fix is to simply stop taking liquids at night. 2) Nightmares involving feeling restrained (restrained running from something, for example) stem from feeling restrained by too-tight sheets/blankets. I found that to be true. The fix is keep the coverings loose.
Ping
I have a dear friend who has suffered with this for years. It started out as severe dizzy spells. The drug Paxil was given which relieved the dizziness but the side effects were RSD. And I mean bad side effects. Now the Paxil has become a part of their body and they can’t stop taking it. Now other drugs are being given to stop the horrible nightmares, screaming, throwing the body around in sleep etc. BTW, the new drugs have no effect. There is no Parkinson’s present. It’s the Paxil.
RSD = REM Sleep Disorder?
I wish the article had more information. Are theses types of dreams frequent or do they only happen occasionally?
There will probably be more about this in English language publications and maybe with more info.
True sleep disorders are hell for the infant/kid/person and their parents.
I'm sure that's so. I would try first some simple things like the two I mentioned before getting into medication or whatever are the current theories as to the meaning of dreams.
When I was about 10, my dear great aunt advised me that sleeping on one’s back is conducive to nightmares. I started sleeping only on my side, and my occasional nightmares disappeared. I have nightmares so rarely that I can count on two hands the number I’ve had in my entire life.
Thanks. That's another simple thing to try for anyone having bad dreams.
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