Medline ® Abstracts for References 82,85,86

Parasomnias are abnormal behaviors emanating from or associated with sleep. Sleepwalking and related disorders result from an incomplete dissociation of wakefulness from nonrapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. Conditions that provoke repeated cortical arousals, or promote sleep inertia lead to NREM parasomnias by impairing normal arousal mechanisms. Changes in the cyclic alternating pattern, a biomarker of arousal instability in NREM sleep, are noted in sleepwalking disorders. Sleep-related eating disorder (SRED) is characterized by a disruption of the nocturnal fast with episodes of feeding after an arousal from sleep. SRED is often associated with the use of sedative-hypnotic medications; in particular, the widely prescribed benzodiazepine receptor agonists. Recently, compelling evidence suggests that nocturnal eating may in some cases be a nonmotor manifestation of Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS). rapid eye movement (REM) Sleep Behavior Disorder (RBD) is characterized by a loss of REM paralysis leading to potentially injurious dream enactment. The loss of atonia in RBD often predates the development of Parkinson's disease and other disorders of synuclein pathology. Parasomnia behaviors are related to an activation (in NREM parasomnias) or a disinhibition (in RBD) of central pattern generators (CPGs). Initial management should focus on decreasing the potential for sleep-related injury followed by treating comorbid sleep disorders. Clonazepam and melatonin appear to be effective therapies in RBD, whereas paroxetine has been reported effective in some cases of sleep terrors. At this point, pharmacotherapy for other parasomnias is less certain, and further investigations are necessary.

SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS: Modifying the sleep environment is recommended for the treatment of patients with RBD who have sleep-related injury. Level A Clonazepam is suggested for the treatment of RBD but should be used with caution in patients with dementia, gait disorders, or concomitant OSA. Its use should be monitored carefully over time as RBD appears to be a precursor to neurodegenerative disorders with dementia in some patients. Level B Clonazepam is suggested to decrease the occurrence of sleep-related injury caused by RBD in patients for whom pharmacologic therapy is deemed necessary. It should be used in caution in patients with dementia, gait disorders, or concomitant OSA, and its use should be monitored carefully over time. Level B Melatonin is suggested for the treatment of RBD with the advantage that there are few side effects. Level B Pramipexole may be considered to treat RBD, but efficacy studies have shown contradictory results. There is little evidence to support the use of paroxetine or L-DOPA to treat RBD, and some studies have suggested that these drugs may actually induce or exacerbate RBD. There are limited data regarding the efficacy of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, but they may be considered to treat RBD in patients with a concomitant synucleinopathy. Level C.

The Movement Disorder Society (MDS) Task Force on Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) Review of Treatments for Parkinson's Disease (PD) was first published in 2002 and was updated in 2005 to cover clinical trial data up to January 2004 with the focus on motor symptoms of PD. In this revised version the MDS task force decided it was necessary to extend the review to non-motor symptoms. The objective of this work was to update previous EBM reviews on treatments for PD with a focus on non-motor symptoms. Level-I (randomized controlled trial, RCT) reports of pharmacological and nonpharmacological interventions for the non-motor symptoms of PD, published as full articles in English between January 2002 and December 2010 were reviewed. Criteria for inclusion and ranking followed the original program outline and adhered to EBM methodology. For efficacy conclusions, treatments were designated: efficacious, likely efficacious, unlikely efficacious, non-efficacious, or insufficient evidence. Safety data were catalogued and reviewed. Based on the combined efficacy and safety assessment, Implications for clinical practice were determined using the following designations: clinically useful, possibly useful, investigational, unlikely useful, and not useful. Fifty-four new studies qualified for efficacy review while several other studies covered safety issues. Updated and new efficacy conclusions were made for all indications. The treatments that are efficacious for the management of the different non-motor symptoms are as follows: pramipexole for the treatment of depressive symptoms, clozapine for the treatment of psychosis, rivastigmine for the treatment of dementia, and botulinum toxin A (BTX-A) and BTX-B as well as glycopyrrolate for the treatment of sialorrhea. The practical implications for these treatments, except for glycopyrrolate, are that they are clinically useful. Since there is insufficient evidence of glycopyrrolate for the treatment of sialorrhea exceeding 1 week, the practice implication is that it is possibly useful. The treatments that are likely efficacious for the management of the different non-motor symptoms are as follows: the tricyclic antidepressants nortriptyline and desipramine for the treatment of depression or depressive symptoms and macrogol for the treatment of constipation. The practice implications for these treatments are possibly useful. For most of the other interventions there is insufficient evidence to make adequate conclusions on their efficacy. This includes the tricyclic antidepressant amitriptyline, all selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) reviewed (paroxetine, citalopram, sertraline, and fluoxetine), the newer antidepressants atomoxetine and nefazodone, pergolide,Ω-3 fatty acids as well as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for the treatment of depression or depressive symptoms; methylphenidate and modafinil for the treatment of fatigue; amantadine for the treatment of pathological gambling; donepezil, galantamine, and memantine for the treatment of dementia; quetiapine for the treatment of psychosis; fludrocortisone and domperidone for the treatment of orthostatic hypotension; sildenafil for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, ipratropium bromide spray for the treatment of sialorrhea; levodopa/carbidopa controlled release (CR), pergolide, eszopiclone, melatonin 3 to 5 mg and melatonin 50 mg for the treatment of insomnia and modafinil for the treatment of excessive daytime sleepiness. Due to safety issues the practice implication is that pergolide and nefazodone are not useful for the above-mentioned indications. Due to safety issues, olanzapine remains not useful for the treatment of psychosis. As none of the studies exceeded a duration of 6 months, the recommendations given are for the short-term management of the different non-motor symptoms. There were no RCTs that met inclusion criteria for the treatment of anxiety disorders, apathy, medication-related impulse control disorders and related behaviors other than pathological gambling, rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (RBD), sweating, or urinary dysfunction. Therefore, there is insufficient evidence for the treatment of these indications. This EBM review of interventions for the non-motor symptoms of PD updates the field, but, because several RCTs are ongoing, a continual updating process is needed. Several interventions and indications still lack good quality evidence, and these gaps offer an opportunity for ongoing research.©2011 Movement Disorder Society.