Toggle Main Menu Toggle Search

Open Access padlockePrints

Cuneus atrophy and Parkinsonian phenoconversion in cognitively unimpaired patients with isolated REM sleep behavior disorder

Lookup NU author(s): Emeritus Professor David Brooks, Professor Nicola PaveseORCiD

Downloads

Full text for this publication is not currently held within this repository. Alternative links are provided below where available.


Abstract

© Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2024. Isolated rapid-eye-movement sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) is a strong predictor of Parkinson’s disease and Dementia with Lewy bodies. Previous studies indicate that cortical atrophy in iRBD patients may be linked to cognitive impairment, but the pattern of atrophy is inconsistently reported. This study aimed to elucidate cortical atrophy patterns in a cognitively unimpaired iRBD cohort, focusing on regions associated with cognitive functions, particularly the cuneus/precuneus, and evaluated the predictive value for future phenoconversion. We conducted voxel-based morphometry and region of interest (ROI) analysis of structural MRI scans of 36 healthy controls and 19 iRBD patients, nine of whom also received a 3-year follow-up MRI scan. The iRBD patients were followed clinically for 8 years, and time-to-event analyses, using Cox regression, were performed based on baseline ROI volumes. The iRBD patients had lower gray-matter volume in the cuneus/precuneus region as well as in subcortical structures (caudate nuclei and putamen) compared to controls. Eight iRBD patients developed either Parkinson’s disease (N = 4) or Dementia with Lewy bodies (N = 4) during the follow-up period. Time-to-event analyses showed that lower right cuneus volume was associated with a higher risk of phenoconversion to alpha-synuclein-linked Parkinsonism in the iRBD patients (Hazard ratio = 13.0, CI: 1.53–110), and correlated with shorter time to conversion. In addition, lower volumes of the bilateral precuneus trended to indicate a higher risk of phenoconversion. These findings suggest a potential predictive value of cuneus and precuneus volumes in identifying iRBD patients at risk of disease progression, even before the onset of cognitive impairment.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Baun AM, Iranzo A, Terkelsen MH, Stokholm MG, Staer K, Serradell M, Otto M, Svendsen KB, Garrido A, Vilas D, Santamaria J, Moller A, Gaig C, Brooks DJ, Borghammer P, Tolosa E, Eskildsen SF, Pavese N

Publication type: Note

Publication status: Published

Journal: Journal of Neurology

Year: 2025

Volume: 272

Online publication date: 16/12/2024

Acceptance date: 27/10/2024

ISSN (print): 0340-5354

ISSN (electronic): 1432-1459

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH

URL: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-024-12762-x

DOI: 10.1007/s00415-024-12762-x

PubMed id: 39680182


Share