The survey--carried out by the National Centre of Excellence in Research on Parkinson’s Disease (NCER-PD) under the aegis of Luxembourg’s health ministry--will invite participants within the age range to answer a 10-minute online questionnaire. Based on the survey, participants who are more likely to have rapid-eye movement sleep behaviour disorder (RBD) will later be contacted by phone and asked to participate in additional diagnostic tests. If RBD is confirmed, the participant will be invited to join a group which researchers will monitor for a longer duration, to include follow-up visits.

RBD, which happens during REM sleep, tends to occur mainly in adults over age 55 and can include a wide range of behaviour, from speaking, even yelling, to restless movements. According to a Monday University of Luxembourg press release, such poor sleep quality can be linked with conditions such as neurogenerative diseases. RBD is “not yet fully understood, and further research is necessary to better understand an emerging link with neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease,” according to professor Rejko Krüger, who is also NCER-PD coordinator.

“We hope to shed some light on why later in life some people transition to the early phases of Parkinson’s while others are protected,” he added.

The project is being carried out through collaboration with the University of Luxembourg, the Luxembourg Institute of Health and the Integrated Biobank of Luxembourg, the Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg and the Laboratoire national de Santé.

For more information, visit rbd.lu