Scientists discover type of dream that’s an early sign of dementia or Parkinson’s

People who move and toss around in bed during sleep could be showing an early sign of dementia or Parkinson’s disease ‘in almost all cases’, experts said today.

Research has long suggested that those who suffer from a condition medically known as REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) – in which people ‘act out’ dreams – had increased inflammation in a part of the brain where the chemicals are present.Dopamine is produced.

It is known that Parkinson’s and dementia patients have a reduced supply of dopamine because the nerve cells that produce it have died.

Now US scientists say they have developed an AI-powered algorithm to analyze video recordings of clinical sleep tests.

They believe this could improve the accurate diagnosis of the condition and even be useful in identifying patients at higher risk for dementia and Parkinson’s disease.

Dr. Emmanuel While, associate professor of neurology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, said: ‘This automated approach could be integrated into clinics during sleep test interpretation to improve and facilitate diagnosis and avoid missed diagnoses.

‘This method could also be used to inform treatment decisions based on the severity of movements shown during sleep testing, ultimately helping physicians personalize care plans for individual patients.’

RBD is extremely difficult to diagnose because its symptoms can go unnoticed or be confused with other diseases.

Not being able to learn new tasks and struggling to stay focused on a single task could be a sign of dementia – the memory-robbing disorder that affects almost 1 million Britons and seven million Americans

A definitive diagnosis requires a sleep study known as a video polysomnogram, performed at a medical facility with sleep monitoring technology.

In the study, researchers used 2D cameras to assess the clinical sleep tests of 170 patients – 80 with RBD.

The remaining 90 had either another sleep disturbance or no sleep disturbance.

They used the automated algorithm to track the movement of pixels in the video: sleep movements during REM sleep.

They then took advantage of that extract the speed, ratio, magnitude and speed of movements, and the ratio of immobility.

The researchers wrote in the journal Annals of Neurology that the technology had an accuracy rate of 92 percent – ​​the highest known to date.

RBD affects about five percent of people and involves talking, laughing, shouting and swearing while sleeping.

Most people with these conditions toss and turn in bed and suffer from black eyes the next day, often falling asleep during the day.

It is known that Parkinson’s and dementia patients have a reduced supply of dopamine because the nerve cells that produce it have died

Around 900,000 Britons are currently thought to suffer from memory theft disorder. But scientists at University College London estimate that this number will rise to 1.7 million within 20 years as people live longer. It represents an increase of 40 percent compared to the previous forecast in 2017

In some cases, their nighttime movements are so forceful that they hurt themselves or their partners.

Around 153,000 people in Britain have Parkinson’s, a neurodegenerative condition that causes pain, tremors in the limbs and movement problems.

Two more people are diagnosed every hour and the disease costs the NHS more than £725 million a year.

Meanwhile, a recent analysis by the Alzheimer’s Society estimates that the total annual cost of dementia to Britain is £42 billion a year, with families bearing the brunt.

An aging population means these costs – including the lost income of unpaid caregivers – are expected to rise to £90 billion over the next fifteen years.

It is believed that around 944,000 people in Britain suffer from dementia, while in the US the figure is around 7 million.

Alzheimer’s disease affects about six in ten people with dementia.

It is thought to be caused by a buildup of amyloid and tau in the brain, which clump together, and by plaques and tangles that make it harder for the brain to work properly.

Eventually, the brain struggles to cope with this damage and dementia symptoms develop.

Memory problems, thinking and reasoning problems, and language problems are common early symptoms of the condition, which then worsen over time.

The number of dementia diagnoses is expected to explode in the coming years, making a low-cost screening tool crucial to address this challenge.