What Neurologists Should Know about REM Sleep Behavior Disorder and its Strong Association with Alpha- Synucleinopathy Neurodegenerative Disorders

James Parkinson’s Description of REM Sleep Behavior Disorder and Freezing of Gate in Case VI: REM Sleep Behavior Disorder Symptoms: “His attendants observed that of late the trembling would sometimes begin in his sleep, and increase until it awakened him: when he always was in a state of agitation and alarm…” “…when exhausted nature seizures a small portion of sleep, the motion becomes so violent as not only to shake the bed-hangings, but even the floor and sashes of the room…” Freezing of Gate Symptoms: “…whilst walking he felt much apprehension from the difficulty of raising his feet, if he saw a rising pebble in his path. He avowed, in a strong manner, his alarm on such occasions; and it was observed by his wife, that she believed that in walking across the room, he would consider as a difficulty the having to step over a pin.” [James Parkinson, 1817 monograph, “An Essay on the Shaking Palsy”].