Link between sleep disorders and Parkinson’s ‘requires more research’

More research must be conducted into sleep disorders in order to understand how they affect the potential development of neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson's disease, according to a medical expert.

A study published earlier this month in the Lancet Neurology journal suggested that sufferers of idiopathic rapid-eye-movement sleep behaviour disorder are more likely to eventually experience conditions associated with substantia nigra dysfunction, such as Parkinson's.

Dr Kieran Breen, director of research at charity Parkinson's UK, said this link was already known, adding that rapid-eye-movement sleep behaviour disorder can begin to affect people long before they are diagnosed with Parkinson's.

However, he pointed out that not all sleep disorder patients go on to suffer from a neurodegenerative disease as evidence of the need for additional studies.

"We need further research to understand the relationship between the two conditions," he said.

According to Parkinson's UK's figures, an estimated 120,000 people in Britain are affected by the disease, equivalent to around one person in every 500.