Nightmares could be early warning of Parkinson’s disease, scientists say

People of pension age who have frequent nightmares could be showing an early sign of the development of Parkinson’s disease, a study suggests.

Previous studies have shown that older people who have Parkinson’s disease are likely to often experience bad dreams.

Now experts from the University of Birmingham think there is evidence showing that having regular nightmares could be an early warning sign for developing the disorder that causes temors, muscle stiffness, slow movement, and impaired balance.

The data of 3,818 men – aged 67 years or over – was used by the researchers to make their findings. The data was taken from the US Osteoporotic Fractures in Men Study.

None of the men had Parkinson’s at the start of the research, during which they were asked about the frequency of their distressing dreams.

The men that had reported having bad dreams at least once per week were checked up on at the end of the study to see whether they were more likely to be diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

During a follow-up lasting seven years, 91 cases of Parkinson’s were diagnosed – most within the first five years of the research.

The men with frequent bad dreams during the first five years were found to be more than three times as likely to go on to develop Parkinson’s.

Dr Abidemi Otaku, lead author of the study at the university’s Centre for Human Brain Health, said: “While we need to carry out further research in this area, identifying the significance of bad dreams and nightmares could indicate that individuals who experience changes to their dreams in older age – without any obvious trigger – should seek medical advice.”

Experts now plan to use electroencephalography (EEG) to look at the biological reasons for dream changes. They will also look at expanding the pool of research subjects to women and people of different backgrounds.

Dr Katherine Fletcher of Parkinson’s UK, said: “Previous studies have also shown that the dreams of people with Parkinson’s can include more aggressive content, being overall more vivid and nightmarish, than those of people without the condition. There is also evidence that bad dreams might be associated with later cognitive decline.

“This new study provides further evidence that changes to sleep might be an early sign of Parkinson’s, in this case linking bad dreams to increased risk of people going on to develop the condition.

“It will be interesting to see how this research progresses when researchers begin to unpick the biological changes that are causing these changes to dream content and how this links to the progression of neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s.

“The more that is known about the earliest signs of the condition and how the brain might be changing, the closer research will get to better treatments and a cure.”

About 145,000 people in the UK are currently diagnosed with the disease, she added.

The study was published by eClinicalMedicine.