Open AccessGreatest rapid eye movement sleep atonia loss in men and older age
Author(s) -
McCarter Stuart J.,
St. Louis Erik K.,
Boeve Bradley F.,
Sandness David J.,
Silber Michael H.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
annals of clinical and translational neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.824
H-Index - 42
ISSN - 2328-9503
DOI - 10.1002/acn3.93
Subject(s) - tonic (physiology) , medicine , rem sleep behavior disorder , rapid eye movement sleep , muscle tone , tibialis anterior muscle , sleep (system call) , eye movement , non rapid eye movement sleep , physical medicine and rehabilitation , disease , skeletal muscle , ophthalmology , parkinson's disease , computer science , operating system
To determine quantitative REM sleep muscle tone in men and women without REM sleep behavior disorder, we quantitatively analyzed REM sleep phasic and tonic muscle activity, phasic muscle burst duration, and automated REM atonia index in submentalis and anterior tibialis muscles in 25 men and 25 women without REM sleep behavior disorder. Men showed significantly higher anterior tibialis phasic muscle activity. Higher phasic muscle activity was independently associated with male sex and older age in multivariate analysis. Men and the elderly may be biologically predisposed to altered REM sleep muscle atonia control, and/or some may have occult neurodegenerative disease, possibly underlying the predominance of older men with REM sleep behavior disorder.