Disturbances of Sleep and Alertness in Parkinson’s Disease

• Published in: Current neurology and neuroscience reports 2018-06, Vol.18 (6), p.29-13, Article 29
• Main Author: Videnovic, Aleksandar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Circadian rhythms; Epidemiology; Etiology; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Movement disorders; Movement Disorders (S Fox; Neurodegenerative diseases; Neurology; Neurosciences; Parkinson's disease; REM sleep; Restless legs syndrome; Section Editor; Sleep; Sleep and wakefulness; Sleep disorders; Topical Collection on Movement Disorders
• ISSN: 1528-4042; 1534-6293
• DOI: 10.1007/s11910-018-0838-2

Purpose of Review Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder. Sleep dysfunction is one of the most common non-motor manifestations of PD that has gained significant interest over the past two decades due to its impact on the daily lives of PD patients, poorly understood mechanisms, and limited treatment options. In this review, we discuss the most common sleep disorders in PD and present recent investigations that have broadened our understanding of the epidemiology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and treatment of disturbed sleep and alertness in PD. Resent Findings The etiology of impaired sleep-wake cycles in PD is multifactorial. Sleep dysfunction in PD encompasses insomnia, REM sleep behavior disorder, sleep-disordered breathing, restless legs syndrome, and circadian dysregulation. Despite the high prevalence of sleep dysfunction in PD, evidence supporting the efficacy of treatment strategies is limited. Summary We are at the opportune time to advance our understanding of sleep dysfunction in PD, which will hopefully lead to mechanisms-driven interventions for better sleep and allow us to approach sleep as a modifiable therapeutic target for other non-motor and motor manifestations in PD.