The influence of parasomnia on clinical and functional characteristics of extrapyramidal disorders

OBJECTIVE To compare clinical and functional features of the essential tremor (ET) and Parkinson's disease (PD) with- or without rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (RBD). MATERIAL AND METHODS Sixty patients with PD and 52 patients with ET were examined. Cognitive functions, anxiety, asthenia and depression, autonomic disorders and sleep disorders were assessed with scales and questionnaires. All patients underwent polysomnography (PSG). Based on the results of PSG, patients were divided by the presence or absence of parasomnia, known as REM sleep behavior disorder. RESULTS Patients with PD and ET suffering from RBD were more likely to be overweight, more likely to develop cognitive impairment, obstructive sleep apnea, and emotional disorders. In addition, presence of RBD has adverse effects on the sleep structure. The profile of memory, attention, psychoemotional and sleep disorders in patients with PD and ET had common features, which suggests that it is RPBDH that affects the change in the clinical picture. CONCLUSION Presence of RBD aggravates non-motor manifestations of such extrapyramidal diseases as PD and ET. On the one hand it helps to predict the course of the disease, on the other hand let us suspect RBD when we see non-motor symptoms worsening.