@article{ref1,
title="A Novel Therapy for REM Sleep Behavior Disorder (RBD)",
journal="Journal of clinical sleep medicine",
year="2011",
author="Howell, Michael J. and Arneson, Patricia A. and Schenck, Carlos H.",
volume="7",
number="6",
pages="639-644A",
abstract="STUDY OBJECTIVES: RBD may result in sleep related injury (SRI) particularly if a patient exits the bed during dream enactment behavior (DEB). The complex auditory processing and low arousal threshold of REM sleep offers a therapeutic window to halt behavior prior to SRI. We evaluated whether a recorded message prevents SRI in medically refractory RBD. DESIGN: Case Series. SETTING: Sleep disorders center. PATIENTS: Four consecutive RBD patients with continued SRI despite both clonazepam and melatonin therapy. INTERVENTION: A pressurized bed alarm customized with a familiar voice to deliver a calming message during vigorous DEB. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: The RBDQ-HK evaluated RBD symptoms, and SRI was further quantified with a new clinical tool, the Minnesota Parasomnia Injury Scale. All patients reported a decrease in RBD symptoms and SRI. No injuries occurred post-intervention. Pre-treatment: 5 serious events (SE), 80 minor events (ME), and 193 near events (NE) were noted over 66 patient-months (4.21 events/pt-mo). Post-treatment: 0 SE, 0 ME, and 3 NE were noted after a follow up period of 63 pt-months (0.05 event/pt-mo). There were 176 total bed alarm interventions (2.79 interventions/pt-mo). No adverse effects were reported, and all 4 patients described a minimal burden of treatment. RBD symptoms improved as the average RBDQ-HK score decreased from 68 (range: 53-80) to 54 (range 42-65). CONCLUSION: A customized bed alarm may be an effective method to prevent SRI in RBD. This intervention is most suitable for cases of medically refractory RBD and/or for those patients who are unable to tolerate medical therapy. CITATION: Howell MJ; Arneson PA; Schenck CH. A novel therapy for REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD). J Clin Sleep Med 2011;7(6):639-644.<p /><p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1550-9389",
doi="10.5664/jcsm.1470",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.1470"
}