The Genetic Landscape of Sleep Disorders in Parkinson’s Disease

Abstract

Parknson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease, affecting 1% of people aged over 60. PD is characterized by a wide range of motor symptoms, however the clinical spectrum of PD covers a wide range of non-motor symptoms, as well. Sleep disorders are among the most common non-motor symptoms of PD, can occur at any stage of the disease and significantly affect quality of life. These include rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD), restless legs syndrome (RLS), excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and circadian rhythm disturbances. One of the main challenges in PD research is identifying individuals during the prodromal phase of the disease. Combining genetic and prodromal data may aid the early identification of individuals susceptible to PD. This review highlights current data regarding the genetic component of sleep disorders in PD patients, focusing on genes that have currently been associated with this PD co-morbidity.

Rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder and its relation to Parkinson's disease: The potential of graph measures as brain biomarkers to identify the underlying physiopathology of the disorder

“…When the sleep disorder is isolated with no clinical symptoms of a nervous disorder, it is referred to as idiopathic RBD (iRBD). The importance of iRBD is on the rise as it is considered a prodromal α‐synuclein syndrome caused by neurodegeneration (Kalinderi et al., 2024 ). A considerable majority of iRBD patients (about 73.5%) ultimately develop Parkinson's disease (PD), Lewy bodies (DLB), and multiple system atrophy during a 12‐year follow‐up (Gnarra et al., 2023 ).…”

GLP-1 Receptor Agonists: A New Treatment in Parkinson’s Disease

“…PD prevalence is continually increasing, and by 2040, about 12 million people are expected to be diagnosed with this devastating disease. PD is mainly characterized by motor symptoms such as resting tremor, bradykinesia, rigidity, postural instability and freezing episodes; however, a variety of non-motor features, such as cognitive decline, behavioral symptoms, sleep disturbances, fatigue, autonomic symptoms and sensory problems are also common [2], often as prodromal characteristics of the disease [3,4]. The pathological hallmarks of the disease are the progressive and selective degeneration of the dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, resulting in dopamine depletion in the striatum, and the presence of Lewy bodies in the remaining neurons [1].…”