Brain responses to heartbeat are altered in patients with iRBD
Isolated REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD), a condition characterized by strong physical reactions to vivid, often violent dreams, is one of the earliest warning signs of brain changes seen in Parkinson's disease or dementia with Lewy bodies, sometimes appearing years before diagnosis.
A new study has revealed altered brain responses to the heartbeat in patients with isolated REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD), a condition that can precede Parkinson's disease or dementia with Lewy bodies. Researchers at npj Parkinson's Disease found that iRBD patients exhibit differences in heartbeat-evoked potential (HEP) while awake, with these alterations becoming more pronounced as the duration of RBD symptoms increases.
HEP was also found to be weaker during sleep than while awake in both patients and healthy individuals, and heart rate fluctuated across different sleep stages. These findings suggest that HEP could serve as a potential biomarker for iRBD, providing insight into the brain changes associated with this condition.
Written by urgent.news from Medical Xpress's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
