REM sleep without atonia and the relation with Lewy body disease

REM sleep without atonia (RSWA) is the polysomnographic finding of persistent muscle tone during REM sleep, resulting in paroxysmal phasic or tonic EMG activity. RSWA is essential for the diagnosis of REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD), but can also occur without dream-enacting behavior. Loss of atonia during REM sleep is considered as a biomarker for synucleinopathies. We will give an overview of the pathophysiology of RSWA and will highlight the diagnostic methods for RSWA. We will describe the different etiologies of RSWA and finally we will focus on the role of RSWA as biomarker for Lewy body disease.
Source: Parkinsonism and Related Disorders - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Review article Source Type: research