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. 2022;12(3):927-933.
doi: 10.3233/JPD-212984.

Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Phenoconversion to Neurodegenerative Synucleinopathies in Idiopathic REM Sleep Behavior Disorder

Sheida Zolfaghari  1   2 , Natalia Lewandowski  3 , Amelie Pelletier  2   4 , Seyed Ali Naeimi  2   5 , Jean-François Gagnon  4   6 , Marina Brillon-Corbeil  4   6 , Jacques Y Montplaisir  4   7 , Ronald B Postuma  2   4   5
Affiliations

Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Phenoconversion to Neurodegenerative Synucleinopathies in Idiopathic REM Sleep Behavior Disorder

Sheida Zolfaghari et al. J Parkinsons Dis. 2022.

Abstract

Several studies have suggested that atherosclerotic diseases and diabetes may be risk factors for α-synucleinopathies. This prospective cohort study evaluated whether cardiovascular diseases and metabolic risk factors alter the rate or type of phenoconversion from idiopathic/isolated REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) to parkinsonism or dementia. Polysomnography-confirmed iRBD patients recruited between 2004 and 2020 were followed annually. Baseline history of cardiovascular disorders, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes were compared among patients who developed outcomes versus those who remained outcome-free. No atherosclerotic risk factors were associated with development of α-synucleinopathies. Patients with hypercholesterolemia were somewhat more likely to develop dementia with Lewy bodies rather than Parkinson's disease.

Keywords: Parkinson’s disease; REM sleep behavior disorder; cardiovascular disease; cohort; dementia with Lewy bodies; diabetes; hypercholesterolemia; hypertension; α-synucleinopathies.

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Conflict of interest statement

S. Zolfaghari, N. Lewandowski, A. Pelletier, S.A. Naeimi and M. Brillon-Corbeil have nothing to disclose.

J.F. Gagnon reports grants from the Fonds de Recherche du Québec – Santé, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Weston-Garfield Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Aging. He holds a Canada Research Chair in Cognitive Decline in Pathological Aging.

J.Y. Montplaisir received consultant honorarium from Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Merck Pharmaceuticals, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, UCB Canada and Valeant Canada.

R.B. Postuma reports grants and personal fees from the Fonds de Recherche du Québec – Santé, grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, grants from The Parkinson Society of Canada, grants from Weston-Garfield Foundation, grants from Michael J. Fox Foundation, grants from Webster Foundation, personal fees from Takeda, personal fees from Roche/Prothena, personal fees from Teva Neurosciences, personal fees from Novartis Canada, personal fees from Biogen, personal fees from Boehringer Ingelheim, personal fees from Theranexus, personal fees from GE HealthCare, personal fees from Jazz Pharmaceuticals, personal fees from Abbvie, personal fees from Jannsen, personal fees from Otsuko, personal fees from Phytopharmics, personal fees from Inception Sciences, other from Parkinson Canada, personal fees from Curasen, outside the submitted work.

None of the financial disclosures are relevant to the submitted work.

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