Nightmares could be early sign of Parkinson's

Bad dreams and nightmares in older adults could be an early sign of Parkinson’s disease.

People with Parkinson’s disease are known to have nightmares and bad dreams more than adults who do not have the disease, but researchers from Birmingham University have now realised it could be an early sign of the disease and be used to help diagnose people sooner rather than later.

Around one in 500 people are living with Parkinson's disease, with most developing symptoms when they're over the age of 50, although around one in 20 people first experience symptoms when they're under 40.

The study by Birmingham University showed older men who had frequent bad dreams were twice as likely to be diagnosed with Parkinson’s later on as those who did not.

People with changes to dreams in older age 'should seek medical advice'

Lead author, Dr Abidemi Otaiku, of the University’s Centre for Human Brain Health, said: “Although it can be really beneficial to diagnose Parkinson’s disease early, there are very few risk indicators and many of these require expensive hospital tests or are very common and non-specific, such as diabetes.

“While we need to carry out further research in this area, identifying the significance of bad dreams and nightmares could indicate that individuals who experience changes to their dreams in older age – without any obvious trigger – should seek medical advice.”

The team looked at data over a period of 12 years from 3,818 older men living independently in the USA.

They found the men having bad dreams on a frequent basis were twice as likely to develop the disease compared to those who did not.

The study shows our dreams can reveal important information about the structure and function of our brains.

The main symptoms of Parkinson's disease impact on a person’s physical movement and are sometimes referred to as Parkinsonism

• Shaking or tremors, which usually start in the arm or hand and tend to happen when the limb is resting and relaxed

• Slow movements also known as bradykinesia

• Muscle stiffness and rigidity – this is when the muscles become stiff and tense, making it difficult to move around and results in muscle cramps

Other symptoms are:

• Problems with balance – which can lead to falls

• Loss of sense of smell also known as anosmia, which is another symptom which can be an early sign occurring before other symptoms develop

• Nerve pain – causing sensations such as burning, coldness or numbness

• Frequent urinating or urinary incontinence

• Constipation

• Erectile dysfunction

• Sexual dysfunction in women – difficulty in orgasming

• Sudden drop in blood pressure causing dizziness, blurred vision or fainting

• Excessive sweating known as hyperhidrosis

• Problems swallowing also known as dysphagia

• Excessive production of saliva

• Problems sleeping also known as insomnia

• Depression and anxiety

• Dementia and delusions

For more information on Parkinson’s symptoms and early signs go to our advice section