Management of REM sleep behavior disorder: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine systematic review, meta-analysis, and GRADE assessment

Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Behavior Disorder: Management and Prognostic Counseling

Management of rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD) includes reducing injurious dream-enactment behaviors, risk of injury to self and bedpartner, and vivid or disruptive dreams and improving sleep quality and bedpartner sleep disruption. Safety precautions should be reviewed at each visit. Medications to reduce RBD symptoms such as melatonin, clonazepam, pramipexole, and rivastigmine should be considered for most patients. Isolated RBD confers a high lifetime risk of neurodegenerative diseases with a latency often spanning many years. A patient-centered shared decision-making approach to risk disclosure is recommended. Knowledge of the risk allows for life planning and participation in research.

Parasomnias During the COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 had a massive impact on sleep, resulting in overall increase of sleep disturbances. During lockdown many factors contributed to sleep disturbances, in particular changes in sleep-wake habits and stress. This article will describe the frequency and features of the principal parasomnias and the impact of the pandemic and the government restriction measures on sleep. Among different pathophysiological hypotheses, we will discuss the role of stress, considered as an expression of the allostatic load. Finally, during the pandemic, parasomnias were mainly investigated by questionnaires, with controversial results; video-polysomnographic studies are crucial to obtain a definitive diagnosis, even in critical conditions.

Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Behavior Disorder: Clinical Presentation and Diagnostic Criteria

Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (RBD) classically presents with repetitive complex motor behavior during sleep with associated dream mentation. The diagnosis requires a history of repetitive complex motor behaviors and polysomnographic demonstration of REM sleep without atonia (RSWA) or capturing dream enactment behaviors. RSWA is best evaluated in the chin or flexor digitorum superficialis muscles. The anterior tibialis muscle is insufficiently accurate to be relied upon solely for RBD diagnosis. RBD may present with parkinsonism or cognitive impairment or may present in isolation. Patients should be monitored for parkinsonism, autonomic failure, or cognitive impairment.

Setting the clinical context to non-motor symptoms reflected by Park-pain, Park-sleep, and Park-autonomic subtypes of Parkinson's disease

Non-motor symptoms (NMS) of Parkinson's disease (PD) are well described in both clinical practice and the literature, enabling their management and enhancing our understanding of PD. NMS can dominate the clinical pictures and NMS subtypes have recently been proposed, initially based on clinical observations, and later confirmed in data driven analyses of large datasets and in biomarker-based studies. In this chapter, we provide an update on what is known about three common subtypes of NMS in PD. The pain (Park-pain), sleep dysfunction (Park-sleep), and autonomic dysfunction (Park-autonomic), providing an overview of their individual classification, clinical manifestation, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and potential treatments.

REM sleep behavior disorder: update on diagnosis and management

REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) is characterized by a loss of atonia of skeletal muscles during REM sleep, associated with acting out behaviors during dreams. Knowledge of this pathology is important to predict neurodegenerative diseases since there is a strong association of RBD with diseases caused by the deposition of alpha-synuclein in neurons (synucleinopathies), such as Parkinson's disease (PD), multiple system atrophy (MSA), and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Proper diagnosis of this condition will enable the use of future neuroprotective strategies before motor and cognitive symptoms. Diagnostic assessment should begin with a detailed clinical history with the patient and bed partner or roommate and the examination of any recorded home videos. Polysomnography (PSG) is necessary to verify the loss of sleep atonia and, when documented, the behaviors during sleep. Technical recommendations for PSG acquisition and analysis are defined in the AASM Manual for the scoring of sleep and associated events, and the PSG report should describe the percentage of REM sleep epochs that meet the criteria for RWA (REM without atonia) to better distinguish patients with and without RBD. Additionally, PSG helps rule out conditions that may mimic RBD, such as obstructive sleep apnea, non-REM sleep parasomnias, nocturnal epileptic seizures, periodic limb movements, and psychiatric disorders. Treatment of RBD involves guidance on protecting the environment and avoiding injuries to the patient and bed partner/roommate. Use of medications are also reviewed in the article. The development of neuroprotective medications will be crucial for future RBD therapy.

REM Behavior Disorder: Implications for PD Therapeutics

PURPOSE

Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (RBD) is a parasomnia that occurs during REM sleep, characterized by REM sleep without atonia (RSWA) and dream enactment behavior (DEB). RBD is associated with several diseases and medications but most notably is a prodromal feature of synucleinopathies, including Parkinson's disease (PD). This article reviews RBD, its treatments, and implications for PD therapeutics.

RECENT FINDINGS

Recent research recognizes RBD as a prodromal marker of PD, resulting in expansion of basic science and clinical investigations of RBD. Current basic science research investigates the pathophysiology of RBD and explores animal models to allow therapeutic development. Clinical research has focused on natural history observation, as well as potential RBD treatments and their impact on sleep and phenoconversion to neurodegenerative disease. RBD serves as a fresh access point to develop both neuroprotective and symptomatic therapies in PD. These types of investigations are novel and will benefit from the more established basic science infrastructure to develop new interventions.

Awake or Sleeping? Maybe Both… A Review of Sleep-Related Dissociative States

Recent studies have begun to understand sleep not only as a whole-brain process but also as a complex local phenomenon controlled by specific neurotransmitters that act in different neural networks, which is called "local sleep". Moreover, the basic states of human consciousness-wakefulness, sleep onset (N1), light sleep (N2), deep sleep (N3), and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep-can concurrently appear, which may result in different sleep-related dissociative states. In this article, we classify these sleep-related dissociative states into physiological, pathological, and altered states of consciousness. Physiological states are daydreaming, lucid dreaming, and false awakenings. Pathological states include sleep paralysis, sleepwalking, and REM sleep behavior disorder. Altered states are hypnosis, anesthesia, and psychedelics. We review the neurophysiology and phenomenology of these sleep-related dissociative states of consciousness and update them with recent studies. We conclude that these sleep-related dissociative states have a significant basic and clinical impact since their study contributes to the understanding of consciousness and the proper treatment of neuropsychiatric diseases.

Melatonin as a Chronobiotic/Cytoprotective Agent in REM Sleep Behavior Disorder

Dream-enactment behavior that emerges during episodes of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep without muscle atonia is a parasomnia known as REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD). RBD constitutes a prodromal marker of α-synucleinopathies and serves as one of the best biomarkers available to predict diseases such as Parkinson disease, multiple system atrophy and dementia with Lewy bodies. Most patients showing RBD will convert to an α-synucleinopathy about 10 years after diagnosis. The diagnostic advantage of RBD relies on the prolonged prodromal time, its predictive power and the absence of disease-related treatments that could act as confounders. Therefore, patients with RBD are candidates for neuroprotection trials that delay or prevent conversion to a pathology with abnormal α-synuclein metabolism. The administration of melatonin in doses exhibiting a chronobiotic/hypnotic effect (less than 10 mg daily) is commonly used as a first line treatment (together with clonazepam) of RBD. At a higher dose, melatonin may also be an effective cytoprotector to halt α-synucleinopathy progression. However, allometric conversion doses derived from animal studies (in the 100 mg/day range) are rarely employed clinically regardless of the demonstrated absence of toxicity of melatonin in phase 1 pharmacological studies with doses up to 100 mg in normal volunteers. This review discusses the application of melatonin in RBD: (a) as a symptomatic treatment in RBD; (b) as a possible disease-modifying treatment in α-synucleinopathies. To what degree melatonin has therapeutic efficacy in the prevention of α-synucleinopathies awaits further investigation, in particular multicenter double-blind trials.

Management of REM sleep behavior disorder: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine clinical practice guideline

INTRODUCTION

This guideline establishes clinical practice recommendations for the management of rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD) in adults.

METHODS

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) commissioned a task force of experts in sleep medicine to develop recommendations and assign strengths based on a systematic review of the literature and an assessment of the evidence using Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation methodology. The task force provided a summary of the relevant literature and the certainty of evidence, the balance of benefits and harms, patient values and preferences, and resource use considerations that support the recommendations. The AASM Board of Directors approved the final recommendations.

GOOD PRACTICE STATEMENT

The following good practice statement is based on expert consensus, and its implementation is necessary for the appropriate and effective management of patients with RBD: It is critically important to help patients maintain a safe sleeping environment to prevent potentially injurious nocturnal behaviors. In particular, the removal of bedside weapons, or objects that could inflict injury if thrown or wielded against a bed partner, is of paramount importance. Sharp furniture like nightstands should be moved away or their edges and headboard should be padded. To reduce the risk of injurious falls, a soft carpet, rug, or mat should be placed next to the bed. Patients with severe, uncontrolled RBD should be recommended to sleep separately from their partners, or at the minimum, to place a pillow between themselves and their partners.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The following recommendations, with medications listed in alphabetical order, are a guide for clinicians in choosing a specific treatment for RBD in adults. Each recommendation statement is assigned a strength ("strong" or "conditional"). A "strong" recommendation (ie, "We recommend…") is one that clinicians should follow under most circumstances. A "conditional" recommendation (ie, "We suggest…") is one that requires that the clinician use clinical knowledge and experience and strongly consider the patient's values and preferences to determine the best course of action.

Adult patients with isolated RBD.

1. The AASM suggests that clinicians use clonazepam (vs no treatment) for the treatment of isolated RBD in adults. (CONDITIONAL).

2. * The AASM suggests that clinicians use immediate-release melatonin (vs no treatment) for the treatment of isolated RBD in adults. (CONDITIONAL).

3. * The AASM suggests that clinicians use pramipexole (vs no treatment) for the treatment of isolated RBD in adults. (CONDITIONAL).

4. The AASM suggests that clinicians use transdermal rivastigmine (vs no treatment) for the treatment of isolated RBD in adults with mild cognitive impairment. (CONDITIONAL).

Adult patients with secondary RBD due to medical condition.

5. * The AASM suggests that clinicians use clonazepam (vs no treatment) for the treatment of secondary RBD due to medical condition in adults. (CONDITIONAL).

6. * The AASM suggests that clinicians use immediate-release melatonin (vs no treatment) for the treatment of secondary RBD due to medical condition in adults. (CONDITIONAL).

7. The AASM suggests that clinicians use transdermal rivastigmine (vs no treatment) for the treatment of secondary RBD due to medical condition (Parkinson disease) in adults. (CONDITIONAL).

8. * The AASM suggests that clinicians not use deep brain stimulation (DBS; vs no treatment) for the treatment of secondary RBD due to medical condition in adults. (CONDITIONAL).

Adult patients with drug-induced RBD.

9. * The AASM suggests that clinicians use drug discontinuation (vs drug continuation) for the treatment of drug-induced RBD in adults. (CONDITIONAL).

* The Recommendations section of this paper includes remarks that provide additional context to guide clinicians with implementation of this recommendation.

CITATION

Howell M, Avidan AY, Foldvary-Schaefer N, et al. Management of REM sleep behavior disorder: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine clinical practice guideline. J Clin Sleep Med. 2023;19(4):759-768.