Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Thirumalai, Shanti S.
• Shubin, Richard A.
• Robinson, Ricki

Titel

Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Behavior Disorder in Children With Autism

Ist Teil von

• Journal of child neurology, 2002-03, Vol.17 (3), p.173-178

Ort / Verlag

Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications

Erscheinungsjahr

2002

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• We performed nocturnal polysomnography on 11 children with autism who had symptoms of disrupted sleep and nocturnal awakenings. We identified rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder in 5 of these 11 patients. Since REM sleep behavior disorder typically affects elderly males with neurodegenerative diseases, the identification of this phenomenon in autistic children could have profound implications for our understanding of the neurochemical and neurophysiologic bases of autism. Further, accurate diagnosis of REM sleep behavior disorder would enable specific treatment with clonazepam and help the family and the child consolidate sleep and improve daytime performance. (J Child Neurol 2002;17:173-178).