Visual hallucinations and symptoms of REM sleep behavior disorder in Parkinsonian tauopathies.

BACKGROUND

In Parkinsonism, visual hallucinations (VH) and REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) have been thought to indicate underlying synucleinopathy.

OBJECTIVES

We tested the validity of this hypothesis by searching for VH and RBD symptoms in Parkinsonism related to tauopathies.

METHODS

Patients with progressive supranuclear palsy or corticobasal degeneration were identified via a clinical data bank.

RESULTS

Of 53 patients who expressed study interest by telephone, 44 returned questionnaires. VH occurred in 16% of patients. Similarly, acting out of dreams occurred in 16% of patients. Neither VH nor RBD symptoms were linked to disease duration or dopaminergic medication and there was no mutual association.

CONCLUSION

VH and RBD symptoms also occur in Parkinsonism related to tauopathies, thus refuting the initial hypothesis.