Diffusion tensor imaging in idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder reveals microstructural changes in the brainstem, substantia nigra, olfactory region, and other brain regions.

ABSTRACT:

Study objectives

Idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (iRBD)--a parasomnia characterized by dream enactments--is a risk marker for the development of Parkinson disease (PD) and other alpha-synucleinopathies. The pathophysiology of iRBD is likely due to dysfunction of brainstem nuclei that regulate REM sleep. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a method for studying microstructural brain tissue integrity in vivo. We investigated whether DTI detects microstructural abnormalities in the brain of patients with iRBD--compared with age-matched control subjects--as an in vivo potential indicator for changes related to "preclinical (premotor)" neuropathology in PD.

Design

N/A.

Patients

Patients with iRBD (n = 12) and age-matched healthy control subjects (n = 12

SUBMITTER: Unger MM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2881532 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature