New research on the connection between sleep and Parkinson’s disease is being hailed as a “first step” toward curing and preventing the condition, a brain disorder that causes uncontrollable movements.
The research, led by the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative, funded by The Michael J. Fox Foundation, is working to make a concrete connection between Parkinson’s and REM sleep behavior disorder, or RBD, which causes a person to “physically act out vivid, often unpleasant dreams” during deep sleep, according to the Mayo Clinic.