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Rapid-eye-movement sleep behaviour disorder and neurodegenerative diseases
Gagnon JF, Postuma RB, Mazza S, Doyon J, Montplaisir J.. The Lancet. Neurology, 2006-05-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep behaviour disorder (RBD) is characterised by loss of muscular atonia and prominent motor behaviours during REM sleep. RBD can cause sleep disruption and severe injuries for the patient or bed partner. The disorder is strongly associated with neurodegenerative diseases, such as multiple-system atrophy, Parkinson's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, and progressive supranuclear palsy. In many cases, the symptoms of RBD precede other symptoms of these neurodegenerative disorders by several years. Furthermore, several recent studies have shown that RBD is associated with abnormalities of electroencephalographic activity, cerebral blood flow, and cognitive, perceptual, and autonomic functions. RBD might be a stage in the development of neurodegenerative disorders and increased awareness of this could lead to substantial advances in knowledge of mechanisms, diagnosis, and treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.
Key findings
- The disorder is strongly associated with neurodegenerative diseases, such as multiple-system atrophy, Parkinson's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, and progressive supranuclear palsy.
- Furthermore, several recent studies have shown that RBD is associated with abnormalities of electroencephalographic activity, cerebral blood flow, and cognitive, perceptual, and autonomic functions.
Why it matters
REM sleep behaviour disorder means a person acts out dreams physically instead of lying still during sleep, which this review notes "can cause sleep disruption and severe injuries for the patient or bed partner." The review describes it as strongly associated with multiple-system atrophy, Parkinson's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies and progressive supranuclear palsy, often appearing "several years" before their other symptoms, so it "might be a stage" in their development. It is an association-only review: it gives no risk figures, does not mention Alzheimer's disease, and does not test any treatment.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 50/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (The Lancet. Neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | The Lancet Neurology: journal h-index 457 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2006 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 374 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 17.0 citations a year over 22 year(s) since 2006 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 15.7× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 7 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 19 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Jacques Yves Montplaisir: h-index 117 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Université de Montréal: institution h-index 1,020 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 16632313) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 50 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Gagnon, J. F., Postuma, R. B., Mazza, S., Doyon, J., & Montplaisir, J. (2006). Rapid-eye-movement sleep behaviour disorder and neurodegenerative diseases. The Lancet. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1474-4422(06)70441-0
Vancouver
Gagnon JF, Postuma RB, Mazza S, Doyon J, Montplaisir J. Rapid-eye-movement sleep behaviour disorder and neurodegenerative diseases. The Lancet. Neurology. 2006. doi:10.1016/s1474-4422(06)70441-0. PMID: 16632313.
BibTeX
@article{gagnon2006-16632313,
author = {Gagnon, J. F. and Postuma, R. B. and Mazza, S. and Doyon, J. and Montplaisir, J.},
title = {{Rapid-eye-movement sleep behaviour disorder and neurodegenerative diseases}},
journal = {The Lancet. Neurology},
year = {2006},
doi = {10.1016/s1474-4422(06)70441-0},
pmid = {16632313},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/s1474-4422(06)70441-0}
}
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Later studies that cite this one
7 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references.