For the study, the team led by Dr. Abidemi I. Otaiku Data from 3818 men over a total period of twelve years. At the start of the study, the participants were on average 77 years old, without a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease and able to lead their own lives independently. 91 of them developed Parkinson’s disease during the study period.
At the start of the study and at two other points in time, the men answered questions about their sleep quality, among other things.
Now save articles for later in “Pocket”.
After the researchers had adjusted the data for influencing factors such as alcohol consumption, physical activity, medication and other sleep disorders (e.g. problems falling asleep and staying asleep), they actually found a connection between the frequency of nightmares and the risk of Parkinson’s.
The 368 participants who had bad dreams at least once a week were twice as likely to develop Parkinson’s within five years as those participants who rarely or never had nightmares.
So it seems likely that more frequent nightmares could actually be a harbinger of Parkinson’s—at least in older men. Further studies must show whether this connection also applies to younger people and women.
The study also shows that our dreams can reveal important information about our brain structure and function, and are fertile targets for neuroscientific research.
“People who experience changes in their dreams in old age for no apparent reason should seek medical attention,” said Otaiku, lead author of the study. Other early warning signs of Parkinson’s can be changes or loss of the sense of smell and changes in writing.
Parkinson’s symptoms such as tremors and other movement disorders are due to the breakdown of dopamine-producing cells in the brain’s substantia nigra. There are still no drugs that can prevent this cell death. However, starting treatment early has a positive effect on the course of the disease.
The researchers plan to use electroencephalograms (EEG) to find out the biological causes of the dream changes. They also want to investigate possible further connections between dreams and other neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
Parkinson’s usually occurs after the age of 65, but it can also affect people who are much younger. Men are twice as likely to get it as women.
The disease is mostly hereditary. However, more frequent head and brain injuries, for example in boxers and football players, strokes, poisoning and tumors can also promote Parkinson’s.
The original for this post “Nightmares as a harbinger of Parkinson’s: Poor sleep can herald illness” comes from NetDoktor.
