Nightmares could be the first sign of Parkinson’s, research reveals.
Experts found that older men were twice as likely to be diagnosed with the disease after they began to experience bad dreams.
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Parkinson’s is caused by a loss of nerve cells in a part of the brain called a black substance. Credit: Getty
Lead researcher Dr Abidemi Otaiku of the University of Birmingham’s Human Brain Health Center said: “While it can be really beneficial to diagnose Parkinson’s disease early, there are very few risk indicators and many some of them require expensive hospital tests or are very common.
“Identifying the importance of nightmares and nightmares could indicate that people who experience changes in their dreams in old age, with no obvious triggers, should seek medical advice.”
The study, published in the journal eClinicalMedicine, followed 3,818 older men for 12 years.
The researchers found that participants who experienced frequent nightmares were twice as likely to develop Parkinson’s as those who did not.
Nightmares occurred several years before the most common symptoms of the disease, such as tremors.
There are currently no conclusive controls for Parkinson’s, which affects 145,000 Britons and is untreated.
Progressive neurological disease causes brain cells to die, causing a lack of the chemical dopamine, which acts as a messenger to coordinate movement.
The three main symptoms are involuntary shaking of particular parts of the body, slow movement, and stiff, inflexible muscles.
Dr Katherine Fletcher, Director of Research Communications at Parkinson’s UK, said: “We know that many people with Parkinson’s have trouble sleeping and sleeping at night.
“Previous studies have shown that the dreams of people with Parkinson’s can include more aggressive content, usually more vivid and nightmares, than those of people without this disease. There is also evidence that nightmares could be associated with impairment. posterior cognitive.
“This new study provides further evidence that changes in sleep may be an early sign of Parkinson ‘s disease, in this case linking nightmares to a higher risk of people developing the disease.
“The more we know about the early signs of the disease and how it could change the brain, the closer the research will be to better treatments and a cure.”
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