title: REM sleep behavior disorder in a patient with frontotemporal dementia.
abstract: We describe a patient with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a tauopathy, who also showed clinical and polysomnographic features of REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD). The patient is a 78-year-old male with a 1 year history of behavioral dysfunction involving emotion, character and social functioning. Brain imaging and the results of neuropsychological testing were consistent with a diagnosis of FTD. Sleep symptom onset occurred some years before the behavioral changes, and consisted of unpleasant dreams, vocalization, and prominent motor behaviors. A polysomnography confirmed the diagnosis of RBD. Our findings support the hypothesis that RBD, although more frequent in synucleinopathies, might be a pathological stage in the development of almost every neurodegenerative disorder in which the pathological process involves the cerebral structures that regulate muscle tone during REM sleep.
authors.affiliation: Sleep Disorders Clinic, Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Ospedale Civico ARNAS, Piazza N. Leotta 4, 90127 Palermo, Italy. danielelococo@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lo Coco
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cupidi
authors.forename: Alfredo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mattaliano
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Baiamonte
authors.forename: Sabrina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Realmuto
authors.forename: Emanuele
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cannizzaro
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D004576:Electromyography; D004585:Electrooculography; D057180:Frontotemporal Dementia / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D020187:REM Sleep Behavior Disorder / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis